Back to the Stars
by Selenite
Summary: The Nautilus was destroyed and captain Nemo and his crew face many new challenges. The main goal remains - to defeat Gargoyle and Neo Atlantis. However, the resources are few and the willpower is weakening. Their only hope now resides in a legend about a long lost, mighty battleship hidden deep under the ruins of Tartessos. Moreover, Nemo and Electra have much to speak about.
1. The Kingdom Without Sun

_The anger, the pressure_

_You're choking down your words again_

_Feel the nerves set in_

_Unspoken frustration_

_They see right through you_

_Paper thin, like the ghost within_

_-Dream Theater, Paralyzed_

* * *

_**\- The depths of Tartessos, Central Africa, November 12, 1889 -**_

It took quite a while to pass through the dim corridor. The way was much too long, at least for Electra's liking. She tried hard to focus just on the echo of her own footsteps, however, her effort was in vain. Even if she sped up a bit, she could hear a plenty of other strange sounds, sounds she rather didn't wish to know where they were coming from and why. The soft rustle of rats running away from her felt just about natural, but the strange hum and crackling noises were rather unsettling. It had been normal back on Nautilus, but here, deep under the ruins of Tartessos it could have meant anything. A landslip or a ceiling falling apart somewhere above their heads? Or was it the defunct, but still burning and unstable engine of the spaceship they struggled so hard to find? What if their efforts within the premises of the ancient and long buried dock stirred some unexpected reaction in there? Would there be any time for them to run if some sort of disaster came? But where should they run to?

Luckily, there wasn't much of a spare time for those thoughts. Because how long exactly did they have before Gargoyle found out about the Nautilus's crew new hiding place? Or worse, before Gargoyle captured Nadia and set his plan in motion? Hard to say. But it was clear that each passing day and each hour were too precious.

_Finally_, thought Electra when she came to a halt a step away from a dimly-lit room, the captain's office - or some kind of makeshift headquarters they had set up here just yestreday. _Was it yesterday, or the day before? _Electra asked herself. _Who can really tell, here in the Buried Kingdom. _

"Electra?" A voice came from inside.

"Captain?"

"Come in, what are you waiting for?" the captain prompted her, his voice rough and cold.

"Of course." Said Electra and entered.

The room looked very gloomy to say the least. The walls around were covered in dirt and dust, and the dark corners were filled with old, rusty items of unknown and long gone function. In the middle there stood a makeshift table made of a few long boards laid and aligned on huge stones. The table desk was covered with the ground plans of Tartessos and its underground, all the available documentation of the corridors and shafts and also all the material that in any way mentioned the old, long closed docks and the legendary battleship Excelion. And by the table, there stood the unmoving figure of captain Nemo, leaning down over the papers. His right arm was propped against the table desk, the left one hung in the bandages that were tied up behind his neck.

Electra let her eyes linger upon the empty sleeve of Nemo's coat. And again, she couldn't stop the rush of anger, guilt and regret that suddenly built inside her. _Not now, not now, not now_... she repeated to herself and clenched her hands into fists as she felt tears gathering in her eyes.

"Any progress or notable outcome?" Asked Nemo, still motionless, not even bothering to look at her.

Electra swallowed and took a deep breath. "If you please, sir, we weren't successful at the docking port two, either." She spoke with a slightly shaky voice. "I mean - we hit a solid wall, the same we encountered at docking port one. However, with the currently available machinery we're unable to overcome this barrier. The chief technician doesn't want to use more power to penetrate the wall, because-"

"Because you may easily end up being buried." The captain cut in.

"Ah- yes." Electra concurred. "Before we can continue, we'll need to brace the ceiling and walls of our drift much more efficiently. According to the detectors a slight movement seems to have taken place above us, so-"

"This is nonsense! We need to stop immediately."

"But captain, the ship seems to be very close. According to the magnetic field-"

"Of course the ship is there!" Nemo nearly shouted at her. "But it's stuck in the place for over twelve thousand years! Moreover, the catastrophe of Tartessos took place above it. The ceiling of the docks collapsed and fell into pieces - and one of these pieces is very likely now standing in your way. Buildings and corrifdors fell apart up there, then came the fires, the landslides, and water flooded it all. The ship is there, but its position has most likely changed dramatically." He stated firmly and Electra suspected he might have actually looked at her.

"Now it is completely buried deep under layers of rubble and dirt with huge chunks of the dock ceiling stuck in it." Nemo continued. "Even if we had a better machinery at our disposal, it's nonsense to try to reach the Excelion through the docking ports. If you continue, sooner or later the dirt above you will give way to the fallen ceiling block that'll crush you."

"True enough the technician's been talking about this, too." Electra said and showed a soft, bitter smile. "It seems as though we should let the Excelion sleep, after all. Perhaps we should think about something else."

"We don't have anything else!" Nemo spat out. "Either we unearth Excelion, or we're finished."

"So..."

"So we're going to dig it out. Literally. From above."

"What?" Electra breathed out with disbelief. "But in that case we'd have to create something like a surface mine! And where exactly are we going to relocate all the mined dirt? And how? We don't have excavators or diggers, we don't have any cranes, either. Just how are we going to remove the fallen blocks of the dock's ceiling? We'll encounter them on the way from above, too!"

"And what do you think I've been thinking about all this time, fisrt officer?" Nemo asked her coolly.

Electra let go another sigh - an angered one this time. "Have you, really? And have you figured out something yet? What should I say to the crew?"

"You won't say anything." Nemo stated resolutely and finally straightened to look Electra in the eyes. "I'll tell them myself."

...

The way to the captain's office had felt lengthy to Electra, however, the way back, walking next to him, seemed endless. To be sure, she was very much used to silence. Back on Nautilus, it hadn't been too rare that everyone on the bridge kept staring into the ocean depths or at their monitors, and remained silent for hours. But this unbearable silence when there was so much to say was painful.

Moreover, the strange, humming sound was getting gradually clearer and heavier the closer they got to the docks.

"The sound seems to have strengthened today." Electra decided to say something at last.

"Hmm." Nemo grumbled. "Indeed." He noted and fell silent again.

"Is it the ship's main engine?" Electra asked after a while.

"Undoubtedly. One more reason for us to get into the ship at all costs. If the main engine slips out of control, the outcome will be worse than letting Neo Atlantis win."

"I see." Electra aswered and thought what could it be, this dangerous force that remained inside the Excelion's main engine, so dangerous that if left unrestrained, it could have caused... Well, what exactly?

Electra was parting her lips to voice another question, but then she recalled something completely different in her mind. Something she wished to tell Nemo for some time now, but there just hadn't been any proper moment for it yet. _He will certainly welcome this information. It won't help us much, but a bit of good news cannot do any harm._ For a moment, she was thinking about where and how to begin, then she took a breath-

"Miss Electra!" A voice could be heard in the distance of the corridor. "Captain, sir! We're waiting for you!"

_Oh, well..._

...

"Are you serious?" Asked someone from the crowd.

"Absolutely." The captain stated firmly to his gathered crew. "What we're doing now is too risky. And ineffective as well. We can't do anything more here. What we have to do now is to return to the wreck of Nautilus and carry away literally everything we can. Every single engine, battery, wire, all the usable material - we'll take whole Nautilus apart if need be. Here in the city underground we'll search all the corridors and service rooms, and each time we find anything of use, we'll keep it. Most important are the energy sources. And finally, we'll move way up, above the dock's vault... and there we'll begin the mining."

"And what exactly are we going to mine, captain?"

"The Excelion, what else?" Retorted Nemo.

Whispers rustled throughout the gathering.

"I admit that the state of our machinery is temporarily quite sad, but the word "temporarily" is very important here. It will be very hard and strenuous at first, but one by one we will build all the necessary vehicles - excavators, diggers, the conveyor belt, anything we're going to need. The cranes we'll surely find in the upper corridors of the dock. They'll be probably buried and defunct, but we'll make them useful again."

"That's plain madness." said a derisive voice.

"That's true." the captain acknowledged. "And do not doubt that the reality will be much worse. But now I'm asking you, how many crazy goals have we already achieved together? Did we manage to rebuild a starship into the most advanced submarine in the world? Does it sound like madness? Certainly. But did we do it?" Nemo called out to his crew. "Did we?"

"We most certainly did." Answered the Old Man and looked at his comrades. It seemed that the thought sparked some interest among the crew to say the least.

"Precisely." Nemo continued as he descended from his elevated standpoint towards the crowd. "Those were months and years of incredibly hard work. Now it's going to be even more demanding and the time won't be on our side. But what else do we have?" He reminded as he slowly mixed in with the others. The men made way respectfully and let him stand in their middle.

"We've all chosen this fate on our own. And each one of us had enough chances to leave. However, we've chosen to stay and endure, and now we're here. Our Nautilus was destroyed and Gargoyle is winning, but there's still one step left until his final victory. This is not the end, not yet. We are the only ones who can stop him, and ours is the advantage of surprise. So we have two options now - either we accept this one final challenge, or we surrender to the Neo Atlantis. To be sure, the second option wouldn't be as laborious-"

"No it wouldn't." One of the gathered men cut in. It was Eiko Villan, the sonar operator, now leaning against a shovel. His face and clothes were dirty with mud and dust. "But it would suck anyway." He added.

"My words exactly, Mr. Villan!" The captain agreed, which stirred some quiet laughter among the crew. "And therefore I ask you now," Nemo continued, "who's with me?"

"I am." Electra raised her hand and tried to ignore all the scornfull gazes around her. "I'm with you."

"Yeah, and I. Either I get a chance to stand on the bridge of Excelion, or I die trying. All better than letting Gargoyle win." Eiko claimed after a short moment, and raised his hand, too.

"And I, of course." Said the Old Man firmly.

"And I." The Doctor joined them.

"And I, and I!" Ikoline, Doctor's daughter and the nurse, shouted.

And at that moment, all the other hands were raised, too.

...

"Captain?" Electra asked carefully as she stood before Nemo's office.

"Something of a great importance, I hope..." Sounded from the inside.

"Well..." Electra answered and smiled softly.

"Well, what?" Nemo spat out nervously, "I'm afraid I am way too busy for this."

"I just wanted to inform you that we've received an automated encrypted signal this morning." Electra revealed hastily.

"Please, come in." Nemo growled. "What signal? Where from?" He asked and looked up to Electra as she stopped by the desk next to him.

"From your separated cabin, sir. Here are the coordinates. It's located at the shore of a small island. We're aware of it's existence and location, but officially it is unknown." She explained and handed down her notes and a small map.

The captain accepted the items and inspected the map shortly. Nearly three thousand kilometers from the east coast of Australia there was highlighted a little dot. "Here you are." He sighed.

"They'll manage." Electra decided to speak eventually.

"If they're still alive." He objected, full of doubt.

"Captain, sir, I'm sure they are. Jean would not let anything happen to Nadia or Marie. I'm certain they are safe and sound."

"Safe and sound is a very relative concept." Nemo replied and motioned the map and the notes back to Electra. "As long as Gargoyle lives, my daughter isn't safe anywhere in this world." He claimed and returned to his documents.

"I'm afraid you're right." Electra agreed, almost whispering, and folded her materials under her arm. "If it's all, captain," she spoke after a silent moment, "I'll say goodbye for today."

"Thank you, first officer. For everything." Came quite a surprising answer.

"You're welcome, captain." She smiled. She hesitated for a moment, but then walked to the door. Before she left the room, she stopped. "Oh, and please, sir, have a rest."

"You know where we can rest, Electra."

"Sure. In our grave. However, I dare to remind you that you're not the one who should be headed this way, sir."

"Well, then you should be happy that I do not intend to have a rest yet." Said Nemo as he stood up from the table and shook off his coat.

Electra observed him, and the sudden view of his injured arm felt like a knife through the heart to her. All at once the memories flooded her consciousness. Suddenly they were back again at the bridge of Nautilus, water wildly pouring in from each direction. The captain was holding his shot arm, his unyielding stare piercing through her. And she, Electra the Traitor, was holding the weapon, ready to fire again.

And again, tears came unbidden to her eyes.

"Captain," She managed with a weak, trembling voice. "I just wanted to say that I-"

"That'll be all, first officer." Nemo seethed at her. His eyes were just as wild, adamant and menacing as she remembered them. "Go to sleep. Good night."

* * *

_**Author's note:** I must apologize that I couldn't find the names of some of the characters, so I had to improvise a bit. That being said, should you, dear readers, have any more information about this, feel free to share with me, either in the reviews or via private messaging. Any other comments and remarks are welcome, too! Lastly I should also say that I'm not a native speaker, so I'm sorry for any mistakes in phrasing, grammar or spelling. Feel free to point out the errors to me if you find some. _


	2. To Where It All Began

_When I'm scared and silently scream "no"_

_My heart's beating fast but I'm moving slow_

_Before I start sinking below_

_You grab on and never let me go_

_Don't let me go, don't let me go_

_When I need you the most_

_You pull me out of the undertow_

_\- James LaBrie, Undertow_

* * *

_**\- The Nautilus, October 31, 1889, three days after the Battle of Kermadec Trench -**_

Finally, the Doctor's footsteps rang through the corridor. It was quite a relief after an almost endless span of silence. He walked slowly, tiredly. In the end, he just sighed and sat down by the door he had intentionally left open.

"Any news?" Asked the Old Man, as the Doctor seemed too hesitant to begin on his own.

"I'm not sure, to be honest. The fever persists." The Doctor explained, his voice calm but somewhat resigned. The bleak standby light dimmed and then flicked on and off, and the crew members present at the bridge looked around and listened to the silence of the ocean depths, waiting. For a moment, the whole room was covered in complete darkness. But eventually the weak, deep-red light came back to life.

"Shouldn't he be awake by now?" Asked Eiko, looking away from the sonar screen for a moment.

"In theory, yes." The Doctor confirmed and then cleared his throat. "If I may have everyone's attention now, I'd like to make one thing clear." he continued. "I'm aware that this particular solution stirs emotions in us all, however, I have no more alternatives left. If the captain's condition doesn't improve by evening, I'll have to take his arm away."

"Come on, there has to be another way!" Eiko objected forcefully.

"Another way?" the Doctor snorted and lifted his eyebrows. "Then enlighten me, please! Look, I understand this is a rather bleak situation, but for me – and I think for all of us – the top priority is to save captain's life, not his arm. Or am I wrong?"

A long, miserable creak came from the hull of the Nautilus – or better yet, from the remnants of it. It almost sounded as if the ship itself lamented and wailed.

"But it's the captain we're talking about. He will make it." Said the Old Man softly, his head bowed to his instruments. It was hard to tell whether he truly believed his statement, though. "He managed to get over much worse in his life. Not to mention he's... he's not like us." He reminded and cast a meaningful glance at his comrades.

"No, he's not like us, you're right." the Doctor acknowledged. "Because had he been a human like us, he'd be probably dead by now, with his arm still in place or not."

"But he seemed to be getting better." Elektra noted. She was sitting near the door, wrapped in the captain's coat.

"Well, yes and no." replied the Doctor. "In our situation, it's difficult to prevent infection." he said, running his hand over his face. "There were too many fragments of the bullet, I'm afraid. I'd need better conditions to find and remove them all. I believe I did what I could, but quite clearly it wasn't enough." He spoke and bent his legs, rested his hands on his knees and lowered his head. "So I tried one last option, but I'm afraid I have no control over it." He added after a silent moment.

"What do you mean?" The Old Man spoke again.

"As I already mentioned, our captain is not like us." The Doctor replied carefully. "Moreover, he's an heir to the Blue Water and there's... there seems to be a connection between him and that... thing." His voice was suddenly very low, as if he were reluctant to say more.

"Go on, we're listening." The Old Man encouraged him.

"Well, Ikoline and I... We took the captain's Blue Water out of that golden casket he keeps it in."

"What? Who let you do that?!" Eiko objected vigorously, almost jumping out of his seat.

"Calm down at once!" The Old Man frowned at Eiko. "Go ahead, Doctor." he said then.

The latter shrugged. "Of course I'm aware it's without the captain's consent, but I think it's still worth a try."

"That's true!" Confirmed Ikoline, who had just entered the room. "You see, there was also a necklace with a pendant in the casket, to which The Blue Water could be attached." She explained. "So we did just that and then we put the Blue Water around captain's neck. Just as Nadia wore it, you know."

"Splendid! And that's supposed to help him?" Petty Officer Fletcher chuckled disrespectfully and looked back from the ship's control toward the others.

"We'll see." Ikoline replied, her tone rather confident. "That thing lit up a bit when I put it on captain's chest."

"Did it?" the Old Man asked.

"Who knows what that means!" Fletcher grunted doubtfully.

"Well, it has to mean something." declared Ikoline in a resolute voice. "Nadia told me about her Blue Water, and how it always warned her about the dangers and all. She couldn't even throw it away, it always came back."

"Sorry, but that proves nothing." Eiko waved his hand angrily. "Besides, why does he never wear it, if it's so beneficial to him?"

"How can you ask that?" Electra cut in indignantly. "You don't know much about the captain, do you?"

"Now, look who's talking!" Eiko replied, irritated. "An expert on captain's life, is it? Speaking of which, can you please tell me as to how exactly it should've helped us that you shot him in the arm?"

"Be quiet, Eiko! I told you once!" The Old Man commanded flatly. "These skirmishes are pointless in our situation!"

"But how can I be quiet and calm?" Eiko protested heatedly. "We have no power, we're constantly sinking, the oxygen's running low... Plus, we've just learned the captain's dying! And she's just sitting here wrapped in his coat, lecturing me. But have we heard any explanation from her as of yet? Have we?!"

"No, we haven't!" Fletcher agreed and slammed his fist against the dashboard in front of him. "And the question is – why don't we talk openly about who's responsible?" He said resolutely and turned to Electra.

"Please, let us all just calm down!" The Doctor ordered emphatically as he leapt to his feet, raising his hand to emphasize his words. "I agree with the Old Man, accusations and judgments are not going to help us now!"

"Oh, really?" Fletcher opposed angrily. "And how can you know she's not up to something else? She doesn't even care about her own life – she turned the weapon against herself, didn't she? Who knows, perhaps we should help her finish what she started!"

"Then what are you waiting for? Go on!" Electra shouted at last, got up and shrugged the captain's coat off her shoulders.

"Precisely, what are we waiting for? The oxygen's running low, we've just heard that!" Fletcher shouted back and rose from his seat. Mr. Okazaki, the ship's control assistant, nodded and got up, too.

"The fewer lungs, the better? My, your logic is faultless." Electra smiled bitterly and looked down. "Come on, let's end this. The rules are clear, and I've been waiting for my punishment for three days now. Please spare me the suspense."

"No! You can't!" Ikoline cried with despair as Fletcher and Okazaki set off for Electra.

"Come back to your senses, lads!" the Old Man shouted, jumped to Electra first and stood between her and Fletcher.

"Let them, they're right." Electra said quietly and put her hand on the old man's shoulder. "I've lost my rights as a crew member."

"You've lost your right to live!" Fletcher insisted. "You know the rules."

"True enough." Electra admitted, lowering her head. So strange she felt no fear at all. No fear, no grudge. Just regret. _I wish I could set it right somehow_... "Please, forgive me." She whispered into the Old Man's ear.

But he just laughed in disbelief. "No, this is madness. There's no way I'm letting it happen!"

"Stand back, Old Man, this isn't your business." Fletcher hissed menacingly.

"No!" the Old Man defied.

"Enough!" Came a sudden, strident voice. It echoed off the inner walls of the ship in the abrupt silence. Everyone fell quiet and just watched as the emergency light gradually faded away before the intense blue glow that was coming from the corridor through the open door – the door in which a tall figure soon appeared, the source of the mysterious blue light hanging on his neck.

Captain Nemo leaned his good shoulder against the door frame, supporting his injured left arm with his right hand. His usually bronze skin now reflected the light of the Blue Water in a rather unnatural way, almost as if it glittered and glowed itself. Nemo's physical condition had been described as extremely bad just a few moments ago, but that clearly wasn't true anymore. His eyes were menacing, hard and stern, and Electra realized that this was the first time the captain had demonstrated his authority to the crew in this way. Of course, each crew member was more or less aware of who their captain really was, but Nemo himself had always tried not to emphasize his origin in front of his men.

But now everyone's eyes were fixed on Nemo's tall figure in the doorway. For a long moment no one spoke or moved.

"I want to make it clear that I won't suffer any lynch law on my ship." The captain spoke finally, his tone severe and firm. "Who I might find again at such conduct will be shot at once." He said, and for a moment his gaze turned to Fletcher. "The first officer has broken our rules and she won't avoid her punishment. But it's utterly pointless to deal with it now. I will decide on her fate in due time. Is that clear?" he asked forcefully, pausing for a moment. "Splendid." he said when he saw that no one objected. "I'm glad we understand each other." He added finally and walked away.

…

But the time went on and the captain held his silence.

None of the crew dared to reopen the subject of Electra's punishment anymore, and Electra herself waited quietly. After all, the captain expressed it quite aptly when he said that there was no point in dealing with this matter in their miserable situation. At that time, death threatened the entire crew.

But in the end, a light of hope glittered in the dark.

They were sinking deeper, almost to the very bottom of the trench, but instead of the deep sea darkness, disturbed here and there just by strange luminous creatures, a faint but steady light appeared before them. There was no doubt that they were slowly but surely approaching the ancient underwater tunnel left here ages ago by the old Atlanteans.

Nautilus no longer had any active propulsion – it wasn't easy at all, the hours dragged on, and all the gentle maneuvering seemed to have no end. But petty officer Fletcher with Mr. Okazaki and Eiko literally distinguished themselves in the process (perhaps in an attempt to undo their previous behavior) and with a striking precision led the ship unharmed straight into the illuminated portal.

Here the Nautilus gained momentum, but where exactly the tunnel was heading to was not clear at first. All the braking systems were of no use here, and so the ship gradually passed one turning corridor after another. At this high speed, the lights on the sides of the tunnel almost merged into a single glowing line. Te crew seemed to have lost control of the submarine's direction again and this time for good. Each passing day the nervousness increased, however, the captain remained calm. He wore his Blue Water constantly on his neck, and his condition improved. He tried to spend as much time as possible on the bridge, where the glow of the Blue Water was less distinct owing to the light coming from the tunnel. Most of the time he just watched the passing lights silently, occasionally responding briefly to questions he was asked. He also often fell asleep in his captain's chair and woke up only at the arrival of the Doctor or Ikoline.

Only once he had spoken out of nowhere, without being asked anything.

"Please don't worry." he said quietly, but clearly. "I know now where our journey ends. Right where it all started."

"We'll emerge under Tartessos." Elektra replied after a long moment of silence.

"Precisely." Nemo confirmed.

And in the next two days they really did. The ship suddenly slowed down and headed for the tunnel leading up. And then it finally happened – something many of them nearly stopped hoping for. The Nautilus emerged.

The air around the ship seemed to be breathable, so it was again possible to open the vents and let some oxygen in. Everyone cheered, people congratulated each other, some teared, others laughed, not to mention Mr. Fletcher and Mr. Okazaki even presented Electra with something very close to apology.

When everyone climbed the surface of the ship and looked around, the huge room where they found themselves in reminded them of a station the most. While the platforms and the adjoining walls looked like being made of white, glossy marble, the ceiling part was just roughly worked rock reinforced with a massive metal vault. Here again, lamps were placed all around the perimeter of the room. An ordinary railway station building, one could say, however, the platforms were not separated by tracks, but by canals. In any case, this place was undoubtedly one of the largest transport hubs in the network of old deep tunnels.

Electra raised her sight, and her head spun as her eyes tracked the monumental ceiling vault all the way up. Fossils of prehistoric creatures and plants lay out between the individual metal ribs of the arches. Light from the platforms no longer penetrated the highest points at the ceiling, and thus the shadows of the rocky protrusions grew longer nad darker high above. Clearly, this place of their new hope also seemed somewhat frightening. The air, however, was fresh and constantly flowing lightly.

"The ventilation seems to be working." The Old Man described what everyone had already noticed.

"A good sign." The captain noted. "If we're lucky enough, other things may work, too." he said as he descended from the ship to the platform. He then reached the staircase leading to the great overpass, which connected all the platforms. The others followed.

As Nemo touched the railing with his hand, the Blue Water on his chest lit up and the stairs moved. One half went up, the other down. "Interesting." He pointed out and got on.

"Have you never been here before?" Eiko asked, joining the captain.

"No, I haven't. And I feel just as amazed as you do." Nemo replied calmly. When the escalator took him upstairs, he first stepped toward the exit to make room for the followers, but then paused to look up at the arch of the hall. "The tunnel that got us here, this station... everything has been a matter of legend for generations. Millennia might have passed since someone of my nation last visited this place."

"Well, that's nice," Shaking his head, Eiko folded his arms in front of him and looked around. "But they could have turned the lights off at the least."

At those words, Nemo bit his lip and looked down. His face was partially covered by his thick hair, but it was quite obvious he was smiling. "What a shame you couldn't advise them back then, Mr. Villan."

"My thoughts exactly!" Eiko joked, but Fletcher had already grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Better stop this chatter and come with me!" he commanded and headed for the exit with the weapon in his hand. "Perhaps they didn't bother with the lights because they're still here."

"I don't think that's necessary, Mr. Fletcher." The captain calmed him down. "The Blue Water brought us here. No one else has access to this place."

"What about Nadia?" Electra pointed out. "What if..."

"No, I think not. It's extremely unlikely." Nemo decided after a moment of thought.

"Well, there's never enough caution. I'm going ahead." Fletcher reported.

"Good." Nemo agreed.

The great portal in front of them was open and the space behind it was also lit, though the light was dimmer. Fletcher and Eiko approached the gate to the sides, each with a weapon in hand, then stepped in carefully. After a moment, Eiko peered back and urged others to follow.

As they all went through the gate, they found themselves in another large hall. Here, too, the ceiling was reinforced by a vault, but it did not reach the same height as in the previous hall. The floor and walls were pure white and glossy with a fine grain, and the ceiling was stony once again. Several lights were embedded in the floor in the middle of the room. The cones of their beams converged to one point between the ribs of the ceiling vault. In the illuminated spot the ceiling was broken and a shiny, smooth object was protruding in between the rocks.

"What is it?" Eiko asked, pointing his finger at the highlighted spot on the ceiling. "It's clear it doesn't belong here, but why are the lights aimed at it?"

"Could it be?" Electra said, her eyes narrowing. "It looks almost like..."

"A part of a ship, right?" Added Fletcher, who had just reached the opposite wall of the hall. Here he put his hands on his hips, leaned back and raised his eyes to get a better view. The rest of the crew followed him.

Along the way, some of the crew walked over the floor lights, casting their shadows on the far wall and ceiling and thus creating a spectacular view of dancing light and shade. However, an even more interesting thing occurred when the captain was passing by the lights – music rang out throughout the expanse of the hall. It was mild and mellifluous, with fast bands of high tones that attracted attention. Nemo and everyone else stopped and looked around in disbelief. Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the jingle fell silent again. The floor lit up even more and Nemo swiftly stepped aside as a large hologram emerged from below.

"What is this?" marveled the Doctor, always close to the captain.

"Seems like... a battleship." Nemo guessed after the hologram had come out completely and soared into the space below the ceiling vault. And just like his crew, he could not tear his eyes from the sight.

At that moment, another incredible thing happened. The perimeter lights in the hall darkened, and a woman's voice sounded. Of course it was not live, but even as a mere record coming from a loudspeaker, it still sounded very pleasing, almost like singing, and was underlined by a musical accompaniment. Its tones carried themselves through the hall as lightly as the ever present, gentle airflow. The only thing that disturbed the overall impression of listening was the fact that the words spoken could not be understood.

During the speech, the projected hologram turned stepwise in all directions. The details of the ship's surface were then approached, and finally a longitudinal section revealed the interior spaces and arrangements. Special explanation was devoted to propulsion and weapon systems.

Then the voice fell silent, the ship's hologram receded into the distance, and thousands of stars lit up all around. The scene filled the entire space of the hall: the vault, the walls and the floor could not be seen anymore. Just an expanse of a beautiful starry sky, thousands and millions of tiny points of light, and far behind, the cloud of the Milky Way.

Beyond the battleship, an entire fleet of similar ships soon emerged. Then the angle of view swiftly turned, and to Electra it felt as if the whole hall was twitching. It took a serious effort to keep standing on her feet, but she managed.

However, there was no room for dizziness, as all of a sudden everyone exhaled in awe. And what a sight it was, indeed. The Earth itself appeared in the field of view, just as it must have looked like from the outer space.

Before Electra could realize that she was probably one of the first humans to see the Earth like this, and that it was certainly the most beautiful thing she had ever witnessed in her life, she noticed a movement. A group of several dozen smaller ships, not unlike their Nautilus, were approaching from the Earth. But before she could look at them more closely, the scene changed again.

This time they moved to the bridge of the great battle-cruiser. In the middle of the room, there was a raised, ornate chair, on which sat a man of a tall, impressive figure and dark skin. He wore a flowing white dress and his forearms, neck, ears and forehead glittered with golden jewelry. Undoubtedly he must have been a very important Atlantean. His eyes were large and bright blue, as blue as the object hovering over his head. _But that's a Blue Water,_ Electra realized.

The man, presumably the captain, was then addressed by a voice whose owner was nowhere to be seen. The captain then smiled lightly, minutely, and spoke himself. His speech was short and decisive, his voice firm and confident. But the words could not be understood again. To Electra it resembled the language of the Atlanteans, but with a terrible accent. In the end, she recognized only one last word on which the blue-eyed captain put a particular emphasis - 'death'. The Blue Water above his head then completely changed shape - with as unexpected ease as if it were a real water drop.

What followed then could only be described as carnage.

While the fleet of the smaller, Nautilus-like ships manifested an impressive firepower and unexpected coordination in the overall maneuvering, the great battle-cruisers seemed to be equipped with a such a powerful electromagnetic shield that the damage they suffered was hardly perceptible.

However, their following response was overwhelming. The blue-eyed captain gave several orders in a calm, almost careless tone. An emotionless voice replied, and the fleet of large cruisers realigned.

The force of the counterattack was beyond all human imagination. Either it was an error in the hologram recording, or the released energy of the attack caused the whirling of the space-time itself. It seemed that the smaller ships were not only unable to respond or actively defend themselves, they were not even able to withdraw from the fight, and in a few moments, almost nothing remained of their fleet.

The captain of the large battle-cruiser then briefly contacted the crew of the last defying ship before the final blow. He let them talk for a moment, but probably didn't even listen to what they wanted to say. A delightful expression spilled across his face as he listened to the sounds of panic on board. In the end, he felt the urge to say something too, but his monologue was rather short. Toward the end of his speech, he repeated his favorite word, then gave another order and the final blow followed.

The large cruiser captured the last enemy ship into a tow beam and then pushed it into the Earth's atmosphere. At the speed the ship had reached, her already shattered shell began to melt, and the blue-eyed captain enjoyed the desperate cries of the dying crew with a blissful smile on his face. However, the screams of terror and death gradually faded, and then the connection broke completely. The ship finally broke into burning pieces, and the scene swung toward the stars.

A jingle followed, and the hologram disappeared. The perimeter lights came slowly back to life and silence filled the hall once again.

Only after a few moments did Electra realize she was sitting on the ground and feeling sick. The cries of the dying crew in the last scenes of the hologram still sounded in her ears – so urgent, so real. Looking around, she found that the condition of her fellow crew members was very similar to hers. Well, except for the captain, who was the only one standing.

"Terrible. Just... Terrible." The Doctor said quietly, shaking his head.

"The woman should have told us to sit down at the beginning of the show." Eiko complained and rubbed his face.

"But she said so." The captain replied, then turned and walked toward the opposite wall. He stopped right under the broken spot in the ceiling. He raised his head and studied the sight briefly. "What a dramatic turn of events..." he said, letting out a short, incredulous laugh.

"What?" The Old Man said, baffled.

Nemo cleared his throat meaningfully and cast a strangely conspiratorial glance at him. "We would rather not discuss the last scenes of the battle. But did you understand the presentation? Did you catch any words?"

"Well... I think I might have caught something, but I don't know..." Old Man replied, standing up with effort. "It sounded like the language of Atlantis, but some lesser known dialect, it seems."

"It was Atlantean, just a very old version." The Captain made it clear. "It's been thousands of years. The language has changed in the meantime. Without the help of Blue Water, I wouldn't understand either. But did you capture the name of the battleship?"

"Excelion, if I'm not mistaken."

"Correct." Nemo smiled.

"But," the Old Man laughed, agitated, and scratched his head, "Excelion is a myth. I told fairy tales to the children about it."

"Me too." The captain agreed. "But as you can see, fairy tales and legends often have a real foundation."

"So wait, is this a piece of the ship we just saw in the hologram?" Fletcher asked, pointing to the illuminated spot on the ceiling.

"No, this is one of the smaller service ships that belong to Excelion." Nemo replied. "It fell and crashed here due to careless manipulation. But Excelion itself is there, too. Just a little higher."

"The battleship from the hologram, the Excelion, is hidden under Tartessos? This is what you're telling us?" Electra asked in disbelief.

"Exactly." Nemo confirmed.

"But shouldn't we have known something about it…? All my life I had no idea that a ship like this was hidden under our city." The Old Man objected.

"Nobody knew unless they had watched this hologram." Nemo replied. "And I guess we are the first to see it again after a very, very long time."

"But how is that possible? How does such a thing get so deep below the ground, and yet nobody knows about it?" The Doctor wondered.

"Good." The captain said, sighing heavily. "We'll make a short excursion into history. And we'll probably get it right from the start." He said, thinking for a moment, and supported his injured arm with the good one. "You can stay seated if you want. In any case, I beg your attention, though. My lecture is not likely to be as impressive as the massacre we have just witnessed, but it will be important for our immediate future." he announced, and started walking slowly back to the others.

"When the ancient Atlanteans, my ancestors, first arrived on Earth, they came in three mother ships. One of them, Blue Noah, landed at exactly the same place we are now under, and it never took off again. There was no need, the scout and service ships were enough for all tasks."

"Ships like the Emitrium?" The Old Man asked.

"Yes, like the Emitrium we converted to Nautilus years ago." Confirmed Nemo, and after a moment of thought he spoke again.

"So the mother ship finally sank into the ground and the city of Tartessos was built over it. But before that, my people's history was filled with constant uprisings and wars. The intrigues, disputes and killings were never ending, they gradually escalated and finally the communication with the original homeland was cut off. That was probably the reason behind the arrival of the Imperial Battle Fleet, as shown in the hologram."

"Wait, so the blue-eyed brute was the Emperor of Atlantis?" Eiko blurted out, interrupting the captain's lecture.

"No, just his favorite general. A member of the aristocracy. The Emperor himself wouldn't bother to come all the way to Earth." Nemo explained, and after a short pause he continued. "We saw that the rebellion was severely suppressed and the war ended. The Excelion had the greatest merit in victory, and after the peace treaty was signed, the battleship was given to the reigning family – my family – and its captain and the rest of the fleet went back to their home star."

"And what happened next?" Eiko wanted to know.

"The Excelion continued to serve as a tool of intimidation." the captain replied. "The ruling house thus retained its supremacy and prevented further rebellions. Nevertheless, over time, the very need for rebellion diminished. It turned out that the human race was on the rise and began to shape its own civilizations. So the Atlanteans gave up on fighting each other and preferred to manage the humans instead... Well, apart from occasional family killings for Blue Water, of course. In any case, the dreaded Excelion was used less and less until, eventually, it was docked into the main hangar inside Blue Noah."

"And, as I mentioned before, over time the mother ship had become an integral part of the growing city of Tartessos. Parts of its upper shell were dismantled to allow interconnection with the new construction. As the years passed, the bottom sections of Blue Noah were gradually abandoned, except for the hangar where the Excelion was located, which was briefly used as a museum. However, after many burglary attempts, the Excelion and the entire hangar were closed for good and the exposition in the form of the presentation we just saw was moved here to the deep station." said the captain, pointing to where the hologram of the ship had first emerged. "At least that's what the recording says."

"But this very place also seems to have been forgotten." Nemo remarked finally. "As thousands of years passed, the underground parts of Tartessos had become a legend, and the Excelion was considered lost or even completely made-up."

"But we've found it!" Fletcher said, clenching his fist.

"Not yet, Mr. Fletcher. For now I have no idea how we'll get to it."

"We should still try, Captain." Electra spoke firmly, and finally got up. "We might have lost the Nautilus, but now it seems we've been served something much better on a silver platter."

"Carefully, officer." Replied Nemo and gave her a brief look. "This isn't exactly what I would call a silver platter. But you're right. If things really are as I understood from the recording, it would be foolish to leave the Excelion here. It is now our duty to find its exact location and put it back in service."

…

– _**The depths of Tartessos, November 12, 1889, two weeks after the Battle of Kermadec Trench -**_

Stuck in memories of the events of the past two weeks, Elektra returned from the captain's office through the dark, cold corridors. She stopped at the dock to check on the crew that was now clearing away all the equipment. The captain had decided that this was not the way they should get to the Excelion, and he was probably right. Mining work was too dangerous in this place and they couldn't afford to lose even a single man.

After inspecting the situation, Electra nodded silently to the chief technician and turned to the elevator. The path to it was rather difficult, as the elevator exits on these floors had been barricaded by the ancient Atlanteans long ago during the total closure of the hangar. However, the elevator shaft itself remained operational, even after the Tartessos disaster. It led all the way from the deep station up to the top floors of the hangar, and so far served as the only connecting route between the two sites. And as for the deep station, here the crew had arranged their new base and facilities as they had to leave their precious Nautilus behind.

A few days back, it had taken the crew long hours of strenuous work to get out of the elevator at this point and clear their way to the dock where Excelion rested. At that time, the presence of the battleship had been far from certain. But then, suddenly, something had awakened within the dock, rumbling and vibrating, and it was clear that the source had to be something aboard the mythical battleship.

Compared to the soft gloom of the dock, the sharp light coming out of the elevator cage was very uncomfortable. After Electra got in, she had to cover her eyes for a while. Without looking, she selected the correct floor on the schematic map and exhaled with relief – after all, this day, exactly as the previous few, had been very challenging and exhausting. She then felt a gentle swing and a tickling sensation in her stomach as the elevator started its descend toward the deep station.

There was a brief, intense braking downstairs and then the door opened. Electra stepped into the illuminated, white corridor. This floor was located just above the main hall of the underground station, so just a short distance away, the corridor was, unsurprisingly, half-obstructed by the fallen service ship.

Unfortunately though, this service ship disrupted not only the corridor structure, but also another, much larger elevator shaft that had been apparently designed to carry cargo. And like this, the cargo lift was inoperable. True, until today, they hadn't had a need for it yet, even the smaller elevator was able to accommodate all the necessary machinery, bit by bit. From today on, however, it was clear that the cargo elevator would have to be put into operation, too.

Electra stopped and looked up as she walked under the belly of the ship. She smiled, held out her hand, and brushed the metal surface with her fingertips. _Two birds with one stone_, she thought. _We'll rob you of the engines, disassemble you, and clear this elevator shaft at the same time_.

She immediately opened her notebook and wrote down this idea for tomorrow's morning meeting. Then she thought again. _Or will we try to rescue you as a whole? But how? Gratan would come in handy here. Mr. Hanson would be certainly full of ideas by now..._ Electra sighed, surprised to realize how much she missed those three strange characters – the ever so diligent Hanson and his constant flattery, the handsome but rather rude Sanson and even the jealous, overly noisy Grandis.

But suddenly, a voice brought her down to earth.

"Miss Electra!"

She looked up from her notes and saw the Doctor approaching her.

"Are you alone?" He asked a rather unnecessary question. "Where's the captain?"

"He wanted to stay there." Electra replied, lowering her gaze to her notebook again.

"Oh. And when is he going to sleep?"

Electra shrugged. "Who knows...?"

"He hasn't really rested since the last operation, haven't slept yesterday either... I don't like this." The Doctor frowned. "Did he at least wear the Blue Water?"

"What do you think?" Electra sighed briefly as she recalled the end of her previous conversation with the captain. "He didn't."

"All right." said the Doctor finally, scratching his chin, and put his other hand on his side. "You're going to sleep, aren't you?" He added after a moment.

"Yes, I intend to."

"Sure. Sorry, if I held you back." The Doctor apologized, turned around and went back to his examination room.

A moment later, Electra set out in the same direction, only a door away, into the room she shared with the Doctor's daughter Ikoline.

There were ten other small apartments in the corridor and two large, apparently conference chambers. It was possible to sleep in the smaller rooms, as most of them were equipped with functional sanitary facilities. Filtration systems worked in here the same way as in the whole station, so they had a constant supply of drinking water. However, the situation with food supplies was worse. The canned food from Nautilus would last probably only a few days more even in economy mode.

_In the end, we've no other choice but to get to the surface and get some food in the surrounding forests._ Elektra thought as she and Ikoline shared one of the last cans left in their reserve. _But that means a waste of manpower. Moreover, we can't use rifles to hunt, somebody might notice us. We can't be sure that Gargoyle's not watching this place._

"Is it ok?" Ikoline disturbed her thoughts.

"What...?" Elektra blinked and realized how tired she was.

"The meal. Is it warm enough?" Ikoline asked again.

"Sure it is." Electra smiled feebly, wearily. "Thank you, Ikoline."

…

_There's nothing we can do, we'll have to cut the fallen service ship into pieces. We have no way to get it out of there_, Nemo decided. _Let's hope it still has functional engines and usable batteries._

It was certain that if they wanted to move all the work to the upper levels of the dock, the cargo elevator would have to be put into operation. But to achieve that, they would first have to get rid of a major obstacle in the form of the stuck service ship. But if they manage to do this all and start to remove the mud above Excelion, where should they relocate all the mined material?

Well, the overall space of the hangar was huge, and if there was a place where no water or mud had leaked yet, they could use it for that purpose. Everything looked simple on the maps and drawings, but the reality will surely provide plenty of unpleasant surprises.

_We'll have to sort out the food situation too_, Nemo remembered suddenly, realizing it had been hours since he'd eaten or drank. _The Doctor won't be happy_, he thought, and tried to stretch his body carefully. But that meant to move his shoulder, and that meant terrible pain. He took a slow breath and exhaled again, closing his eyes, and tried to straighten his back. Sure, he expected the injured arm to protest, but this was too much.

_No, I'm not getting up now. I'll just sit back and rest. Just for a while._ He thought to himself, leaning back slowly, holding his left forearm with his right hand so that the injured arm would not move, if possible. When he finally felt the back of his chair behind him, he breathed out with relief.

_I should have listened to you_, he blamed himself at the memory of Electra and her request that he should get some rest, too. "You seem to be always right. Well, almost." he said aloud this time. He chuckled, realizing he could only admit this if Electra wasn't there to hear it.

_When will it end_, he thought when he felt pain and twitching in his injured arm. The last operation had taken place four days ago, and the Doctor had assured him that he had finally found all the fragments of the projectile. Still, another infection was probably beginning inside the wound. Blue Water had helped him get better the previous week, maybe it'll help him now, too. And maybe it won't be necessary, maybe the Doctor can do without it.

Nemo opened his eyes for a moment and looked at the small, shimmering box in the corner of the table. And as he had done a thousand times before, he wished he could become someone else. Someone whose life is not tied to the thing hidden in the golden casket.

…

When he opened his eyes again, everything around him was flooded with sunlight. Wisps of clouds glided silently across the azure sky, and a soft breeze flowed through the city streets, playing with the white tilts of the stalls and curtains in the windows. But it was the only perceptible movement. Otherwise there was silence everywhere – the square and the adjacent streets were empty, no one could be seen even in the windows of the houses. And it felt strange and grim, particularly on such a beautiful day.

"Where is everyone?" Nemo whispered as he looked around again.

"You do not know?" A familiar voice asked. All too familiar. Nemo felt his chest clench. He couldn't look up, he just couldn't.

But not looking was equally unbearable. In the end, he raised his head and fixed his gaze on the wide staircase rising to the main entrance of the temple. It was barely a few meters; only a few steps above him stood a tiny young woman with bronze skin and long, black hair. Her bright green eyes might seem sad, but that was just an impression. Thoughtful, that was the right word. Her forehead was decorated with a golden crown, and the tips of her white dress gently swung with the wind. His beloved Sonia, one of the most beautiful beings under the Sun. She was so close... but Nemo couldn't make a move.

"They're not coming back," his queen spoke. "Ever again." She added and smiled lightly, but her voice was sad, soft and distant.

Then Nemo saw that another person was coming down from the temple. He was tall and athletic, long black hair cascading down to his waist. His robe was also white, and a crown of shining gold rested on his head. Nemo thought for a moment that he was looking at a younger version of himself. Even the queen was still so young — it seemed as if their wedding day was happening before him again.

But as the young man descended to the queen and stood by her side, Nemo noticed that his eyes were sky blue and the features were more subtle. Even the hair shade was a little different.

"Venusis?" Nemo said barely audibly.

The young man smiled and took his mother's hand. "So you recognized me."

"How is... how is this possible?" Nemo whispered, dropping to his knees. But what was he wondering at? Whenever he saw Venusis in his dreams, he was always the same five-year-old. But thirteen years had passed since they had last seen each other. Venusis was no longer a little boy. If he was still alive, he must have grown up into a young man like this.

"Don't worry, together we will fix everything." Venusis spoke once again. "I'll help you. All I need is your Blue Water. Will you entrust it to me?"

"I - I don't know. I shouldn't." Nemo doubted, lowering his gaze to his chest. There was no necklace anywhere, the Blue Water seemed to be embedded right in his sternum. Bright rays of blue-white light emanated from it, twisting in a very strange way. But their intensity increased and part of the light arched right into Nemo's left arm, causing severe pain there.

"Please give it to me and everything will be all right again. I'll take care of everything, I just need your Blue Water. Just entrust it to me, please." Venusis asked.

"All right then." Nemo finally agreed, pulling the gem from his chest with his right hand and hissed as the pain in his left arm intensified. He couldn't move forward, so at least he got up and held out his hand, palm up, offering the Blue Water to his son. At that moment Venusis held up his hand, too, and drew the item to him just with his willpower.

And as soon as the gem touched his palm, the blue light inside turned red.

The wind grew stronger and the ground all around began to shake and burst. There was a strange rumble, and pieces of pavement and thick clouds of dust were rising from the ground and moving higher.

"What have you done?!" A desperate female voice shouted at him. Nemo turned and looked into her cold, icy blue eyes. They were full of hopelessness and rage, and filled with tears.

"Please forgive me." he asked her and put his hand on her cheek to wipe her tears away.

But Electra's gaze was still just as ruthless. "How could you...?!" She hissed angrily, and pushed his hand away. She held up a revolver with the other hand, pointed it at Nemo's forehead, and pulled the trigger.

…

It was only a fraction of a second later that Nemo realized he had jumped out of his chair. But now he was falling again, until he was stopped by the wall behind him, hitting it hard with his injured shoulder. He felt a rush of sickness at the sudden wave of sharp pain, tears bursting from his eyes. Slowly he slid to the ground, breathing heavily.

"What was that?" he said between his teeth, remembering his strange dream. He seemed to have all kinds of rather vivid dreams lately, but this was the first time he had dreamed about his adult son.

It had been a long time since Nemo had forbidden himself thinking of Venusis. And as the years went by, he did quite well. Mostly. But since he had met Nadia, he'd also started to think of Venusis, over and over again.

But this time, Nemo felt as if he'd been talking to his son for real, in person.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not giving the Blue Water to you." Nemo said, as if his son could still hear him. "Not willingly." he added, then breathed hard for a long while. Growing more and more desperate, he tried to seize the rising inner panic and helplessness that suddenly threatened to take over him. All the time, all these years his son had been Gargoyle's captive, and Nemo couldn't do anything about it. Now he was trying hard not to give in to the horrific thoughts of what Venusis might have been forced to live through.

Because the truth was that whether he wanted it or not, the longer they stayed in this place, the less he felt to be captain Nemo of Nautilus. And all the more often his old memories came to his mind. The past could not be erased, and in the past he had been someone else. He used to be a respected king. And a husband. And a father, too.

But now, only ruins and ashes remained of his city. His family was gone. And his queen, their people...

_They're not coming back, ever again._

Eventually, he was brought back to reality by some sort of hurried and muffled screeching sounds. He opened his eyes and looked around. Only a small table lamp lit the room, so Nemo couldn't tell much from his position on the floor. After a moment of persuasion, he leaned back and rested his head against the wall behind him. But before closing his eyes again, he noticed a rapid movement along the wall. _Rats_. He laughed briefly, full of bitterness. _One day crowds are cheering for you_, he thought, _and the next you crawl among the rats underground._

He recalled his wedding day once again, the day he also had become king of Tartessos. The square in front of the temple had been full, he could not even hear his own words through all the noise and cheering. And so he just held hands with his bride, the queen, and greeted their people.

The space just below the main stairway was reserved only for Atlanteans – aristocrats, members of the government and the Senate. Gargoyle himself – or Nemesis back then – also nodded in acknowledgment, smiling and clapping. At that time he was still a good friend and advisor, but there were already certain signs of problems that had to be solved, not overlooked or excused.

But beyond the gathered representatives of the city and the Atlantean nobility stood strong barriers, behind which a crowd much more numerous cheered – members of the human race. And from there came the greatest, sincere joy. Nemo looked at his queen at that time and nodded briefly toward the barriers. Sonia smiled and nodded, too. Both of them went down the stairs, and after having received all the greetings and congratulations, they refused to follow the ceremonial procession back to the palace. The reason was simple - they also wanted to greet their human friends. So they passed through the crowd of astonished nobles and senators and reached the barriers. The Queen signaled to the commanders of the Royal Guard that she wanted the barriers removed. Subsequently, several guards formed a narrow alley in the crowd to allow the royal couple to pass.

They both tried to touch every hand that reached for them, but that was almost impossible. Nevertheless, somehow, the Old Man, Nemo's mentor and teacher, came to him. He was moved and so full of emotions back then. They had embraced each other for a long time, shouting the words of congratulations and gratitude into each other's ear. People were ecstatic about the presence of the royal couple, laughing and singing, and finally chanting their names. And if a moment could be called the beginning of Gargoyle's hatred, it was probably this one.

But back then, Nemo felt that he had done the right thing, that in the end everyone would understand him and accept his motives. At that time he felt so cheerful, as if everything was possible, as if the whole world lay at his feet. But the truth was different, and by refusing to deal with the growing disputes and disagreements, Nemo just postponed the problems, but they did not disappear. The conflict was inevitable until the worst solution of all remained.

_They're not coming back. Ever again._

No, they're not. They won't come back because everyone was dead. All those happy people who had at least tried to touch him back then, their loved ones and their families, their children, all were dead by his own fault.

Only a few survivors remained who were still loyal to him. Together they gave up their names and their past, built the Nautilus, and finally surrendered to the depths of the oceans. They all had abandoned their previous lives, driven only by hatred and desire for revenge.

No wonder Electra tried to kill him. Nemo caused the death of her entire family and subsequently offered her only the life of the outcast and the vision of bloody retribution. She hadn't known anything else throughout all these years — it was all there was left for her to live for.

_So you see, dear Sonia_, Nemo realized. _We wanted to make our homeland and the world a better place for all. We thought we were the good ones. But we were just young, naive and stupid._

"Captain?" A girl's urgent voice came in all of a sudden.

Nemo exhaled and looked toward the entrance. "Miss Ikoline? What are you doing here? It is late." He spoke in a hoarse voice, his eyes narrowing at the sharp light from the flashlight Ikoline was holding in her hand.

"What am I doing here?!" The girl repeated angrily. "We're here to pick you up!" she explained as the Doctor, her father, also appeared in the doorway.

"You too, Doctor?" Nemo asked, surprised. "That wasn't necessary."

However, the Doctor and his daughter seemed to ignore Nemo's last remark and quickly approached him to check on his health.

"The fever's back again." the Doctor said. "Lin, fetch the Blue Water, now!" he called.

"Please, don't." Nemo protested.

"I know," Ikoline said softly, amiably, reaching for the golden box on the table. "I know you don't even want to see it. But it will help you... and all of us." She comforted him as she knelt down and opened the casket.

"Take it away..." Nemo pleaded as Ikoline carefully pulled the Blue Water necklace over his head.

"Don't worry, it'll be better soon." she said gently, brushing his hair from his sweaty forehead.

At that moment, however, a strong rumble vibrated through the corridors and walls. And then again. And again.

"Three signals." counted the Doctor after a silent, tense moment. "That's not a coincidence, is it?"

"No, it's not." Nemo confirmed with a sigh. The Blue Water shone brightly on his chest.

"Is it just me or does the ship want to tell you something?" Ikoline whispered urgently. "Is it possible?"

"I guess so." The captain agreed. For a while, everyone waited in silence. But the rumbling returned to its normal and the intensity of the light coming from the Blue Water decreased.

"So what's the matter here?" the Doctor asked quietly. "Is the ship really calling to us?"

"Without a doubt. I think it's trying to alert me to a problem." Nemo explained after a thoughtful moment. "There's an artificial being incorporated into the ship's system. It has access to all the controls on the ship and can make its own decisions if necessary. But after thousands of years alone, it seems to have been facing some difficulties that it can't solve on its own."

Ikoline was horrified. "Thousands of years alone? What a dreadful idea."

"There's no need for compassion." Nemo replied. "Artificial beings don't perceive time like us."

"Well, let's hope you're right."

"Anyway! Let's not get held up longer than necessary," the Doctor said nervously. "Are you able to get up, Captain?"

"Yes, probably." Nemo said, and then, with the help of his two companions, rose from the ground. The pain in his arm had weakened noticeably.

"Excellent!" The Doctor encouraged him. "Now we'll go back to the station and have some rest."

* * *

__Oh how I wish__

__For soothing rain__

__All I wish is to dream again__

__Once and for all__

__And all for once__

__Nemo my name forevermore__

__Nightwish, Nemo__

_…_

* * *

__**Author's note:**____ The second chapter ____ended____ up being a little longer it seems ;)__

__And again, I dared to improvise a bit with the character names. I borrowed Mr. Fletcher from the films about the Mutiny on the Bounty (I just switched his first and last name), and as for Mr. Okazaki, I named him after the Japanese scientists who contributed significantly to the knowledge about DNA replication. I used to say this name quite often just a few years ago, so I guess it just came into my mind, no special meaning behind that choice. And the name Sonia came to me when I tried to come up with something that would sound similar to Nadia.__

__Regarding the former captain of the Excelion, I have a name for him too, as this was not the last time we hear about him ;) I named him after a certain Greek goddess of strife and discord and a sister of Ares, the god of war. Oh and while writing his scenes, I listened mainly to Nightwish, especially to their song "Wishmaster".__

__As for the Battle of Kermadec Trench, I'm not sure if it was said in the anime on which day it should have taken place, so I picked up Nemo's birthday. Yeah... I tend to be very cruel to my characters. (Well, Nemo isn't my character, of course, but you know what I mean.)__

__Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I will appreciate everything you'd like to say about it. Any comments or overall feedback are welcome!__

__Thank you for stopping by and see you soon!__


	3. The Royal Funeral, part I

_Soft blue horizons_

_Reach far into my childhood days_

_As you are rising_

_To bring me my forgotten ways_

_Strange how I falter_

_To find I'm standing in deep water_

_Strange how my heart beats_

_To find I'm standing on your shore_

_\- Enya, On Your Shore_

* * *

Electra suddenly opened her eyes and listened to the silence of the night.

"Ikoline?" she let out an urgent whisper.

When no answer came, she reached out and lit the lamp on her bedside table. Her eyes narrowed under the surge of light. She got up and found that Ikoline was gone.

After that, Electra did not hesitate and went to the door.

The light in the hallway was bright, so much brighter than inside. She was almost forced to close her eyes. Still, she knew exactly where she was going.

Fortunately, there was a pleasant, mild gloom in the Doctor's examination room, emitted just by a small lamp on his desk.

"Any trouble? Is Ikoline with you?" Electra wanted to know.

"Nothing serious." the Doctor replied, his tone calm and quiet, and put down the tool he had just finished cleaning. "And yes, Lin is here too."

"Has the captain returned?" She asked, wrapping the white shirt she was used to sleep in more tightly around herself. She wore nothing else besides this piece of clothing at the present, and suddenly she regretted not having something on her feet, too. It felt a bit cold outside her bed.

"Yes, Ikoline and I brought him back." The Doctor confirmed.

"Did you?"

"He was very tired and his wound again slightly inflamed. But nothing to worry about, we've cleaned it, it'll be fine." The Doctor explained in a rather hurried manner and glanced back toward the separated part of the room.

"So, he's finally asleep?" Electra spoke again, quickly doing up the remaining buttons on her shirt. Then she turned her back to a table next to the Doctor's desk and leaned against it.

"He will be soon, don't worry. Everything's been prepared." The Doctor reassured her and nodded toward the bed at the far wall. "As I said," he continued, noting that Electra was slightly uneasy about it, "it's nothing serious, I just want to keep him under supervision tonight, that's all. He'll get something for pain and a sleeping pill and then he'll sleep like a bear, I promise you. And you should, too, as soon as possible. " he said, giving her a reproachful look. "Or at least don't walk around here dressed like this."

"Fear not, I'm going right back in a moment." Electra smiled. "It's not my intention to distract you."

"Oh, that is fine." the Doctor replied in a slightly amused tone. "Rest assured that there's nothing under your shirt I haven't seen many times before. It's your health that I'm more concerned about." he said and went to the medicine cabinet.

"Hm." Electra lowered her head and closed her lips tightly together to suppress a chuckle. "That's nice of you, thanks."

But by then the door opened in the next compartment of the room. Ikoline could be heard, talking softly to someone. And several short, austere answers revealed that the other one was Nemo.

"All right," Ikoline's voice sounded again, more clearly this time. "Will you manage to dress yourself? Or should I call my father?"

The captain replied, but the words could not be discerned.

"Sure, no need to hurry." Ikoline laughed. "And you may leave the shirt for later. We'll treat your wound first." She added after a moment of silence. "Come on, sir, your bed is ready." She chirped eventually.

Then Ikoline emerged from around the corner. On his right side, she softly supported the captain, leading him to the prepared bed. Then she helped him sit down and reached for the towel he had draped around his neck. "I'll just dry your hair a little more." she announced to him quietly. "It's growing really fast, did you know?" cheerful, she told him in the process. "Time for a haircut, is it?"

"You're too kind, Miss Ikoline, but not this time." was the captain's answer.

"No?" Ikoline asked in surprise. "Well, as you wish. But it'll sneak into your eyes."

"I'll handle it." The captain insisted, and when Ikoline retreated, he looked up at Electra. Apparently only now he noticed that she was in the room.

"What is it, officer?" He asked, watching Electra from under his thick eyebrows.

"Nothing, captain." Electra managed, feeling somewhat surprised. She was still trying to find the right expression to describe what she had just witnessed. Normal? Natural? Yes, very normal in its own way, and kind of sweet, too. After all, it was nice and reassuring to see once again that the captain was like any other. Well, of course, in fact he wasn't. But if nothing else, this situation had just shown that he had to deal with the same everyday problems as everyone else did.

"Then why are you here?" He spoke in exasperation again, and the sweet, reassuring feeling vanished. "I told you to go to bed. There's a tough day ahead of us." Nemo reminded her, and then set his scarred arm toward Ikoline, who had just brought disinfection and a healing ointment.

And to be sure, the scar was large and ugly. Looking at it and imagining how much such a thing must have made life uncomfortable, Electra again had to admit that this had never been her goal, she'd never wanted that. She folded her arms in front of her, and silently followed Miss Ikoline's actions.

Finally, Electra turned her gaze to the ground. She was beginning to feel more and more inappropriate, both because of the situation in which she had caught the captain and because of what she herself was dressed in. But at the same time, she couldn't force herself to leave. She just caught a soft breath of alcohol when she finally decided to answer.

"I just came to find out what's going on." she said, still staring at some undefined spot on the floor. "Anyway, while I'm here, we can at least discuss the morning meeting."

"To agree on what?"

"On time, perhaps." Electra replied, shrugging. "I think we should delay the opening by an hour or two."

"Why?" Nemo asked curtly.

"And why not?" She opposed, looking into his eyes. "You're not all right, you still need to recover."

"Nonsense." He spat out stubbornly and looked away.

"Excuse me, sir?" With a disbelieving expression, Electra leaned toward the captain. "If you are to lead us to meet our goal, you must finally get well! And you need to sleep to achieve that. The meeting can wait."

"As I said." Nemo snapped. "No."

By then Electra could feel her cheeks starting to flush. "Why do you have to be so stubborn?" She spoke a little more vigorously than she had originally intended. "I must say Nadia really took after you in this."

"I agree." Ikoline whispered quickly, put aside the disinfection and reached for the healing ointment.

Nemo lowered his head and his wet hair fell to his forehead. The muscles in his right arm tensed as he leaned against the edge of the bed. "What are we even talking about?" he finally managed in a rather surly tone.

"I'd also like to know." Electra said scornfully, turning her eyes away. "If you worry about the work, sir, you really don't have to. It can continue in the meantime. I'll personally keep an eye on everything."

"No one wants you to do that now!" the captain said angrily.

"No? And what if you reject my suggestion just because it's mine?" Electra raised her voice angrily, pushed herself away from the table and strode toward the captain, her hands clenched into fists.

"I reject it because it's nonsense!" Nemo snapped at her and leapt up as well. At that moment Electra paused. Ikoline shook her head in confusion, hanging her hands helplessly.

"A morning meeting certainly won't kill me!" He continued, and in two quick steps crossed the remaining distance between him and Electra. "Better worry about your choice of attire, officer, and stop parading yourself like Grandis." he said, his voice calming down slowly as he loomed over her.

"What?!" Electra was appalled by both his statement and sudden proximity, but she didn't step back. Her voice was shaking with anger. "Me? Like Grandis?" she managed, breathing heavily, her eyes fixed on the captain. All she wanted now was to hit him, he didn't deserve anything else. He must have been perfectly aware of what he said and what his words really meant to her.

But after a moment of wild panting, it was clear to Electra that she simply didn't dare do that. Moreover, the longer she stared defiantly into Nemo's eyes, the more she realized that something else was bubbling under all that inner rage and fury.

For some strange reason, she suddenly noticed that if his hair was just a little longer, it would be touching her face right now. He was so close. And if she stood on her tiptoes, she could-

"I hate to disturb you in this very meaningful debate," the Doctor broke through the tense silence, "but if I may contribute, I insist that we all go to sleep. Right. Now."

And he was right. Realizing that, Electra exhaled slowly, closed her eyes and lowered her head. "Do as you please." she said quietly. Fighting off a sudden urge to touch Nemo' skin, she turned away and left the room without another word.

…

When Electra returned to her quarters, she drank water, sat on her bed, and looked around the quiet space. Unlike the white corridor, the rooms in this part of the station were each painted in a different colour – theirs was azure. And apart from the walls, the same shade decorated a few pieces of simple furniture.

The beds were built into the wall and could be folded down in one simple movement. There were no decorations or ornaments on them, only a white frame and a mattress. The blankets and pillows were blue, also bearing no pattern or embroidery anywhere, but it didn't matter, because Electra hadn't slept on anything more comfortable in all of her life. For a moment, she wondered how the crew quarters would be equipped in Excelion. If all things of the daily use would also be made of those unknown, light, and yet solid materials like here. And whether the internal division would still correspond to that from the hologram record, or whether it had changed over the long span of time.

She closed her eyes tightly and took a breath. She forced herself into these thoughts, only to be able to calm down and not think about the captain's last words, her anger and helplessness; not think about something she was convinced was long gone, but clearly it wasn't. Her heart sank, and then the thoughts of the captain, of their previous conversation, of his wound, of the last days aboard the Nautilus, and of all the long years they had known each other, returned with full force.

It all had started after the Tartessos disaster thirteen years ago. Her homeland was destroyed, so was her family. And barely eleven-year-old Electra, then still Medina, desperate and starving, crouched under an overhanging rock, not knowing what to do with her own life now that everyone was gone. The awful, oppressive silence was broken only by the wind and the cries of birds and other creatures that came to feast on the dead.

Light and dark alternated like in a dream. In the end, she wasn't at all sure what was real and what was not. She was hungry and thirsty, but she didn't dare leave her hiding place. At one point, however, she heard human voices approaching. She wondered whether they were real or not, whether to go and see what was happening, to let them know about her presence, or to let them pass by.

But before she could act, the view from her hiding place was overshadowed by a tall figure. He spoke directly to her. His voice was quiet, maybe a little sad, but kind. Beautiful golden rings with precious stones shone on his fingers, she noticed as he reached for her. Even according to the accent, he must have been someone from the inner city, someone very respected and important. He didn't want to tell her his name, but he had food with him and was kind to her. And so, she followed him in a complete confidence.

There were a few other people with him, and they were nice, too. They helped her find and finally bury her brother, just as they buried many others they found along the way. Then followed another very strange, short funeral.

Her nameless saviour took off all his beautiful rings and, along with many other jewels, placed them in a chest, which he then buried deep underground. But before all those things had disappeared into the chest, Electra couldn't help but notice that several wide, layered necklaces were dirty, probably from blood. Her rescuer held them in his hands for a long time before deciding to put them among other things for burial, almost as if he could not say goodbye to them. And she noticed that there were two glittering golden crowns in the chest.

"Does the bigger crown belong to you?" Electra asked in a soft, innocent voice when it was all over.

"No longer." her saviour answered, taking her tiny palm in his own.

At that moment, Electra hesitated about what she should do next. It was already clear to her who she was honoured with. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't be able to talk to him like that, she wouldn't be allowed to get this close to him, let alone hold his hand. But these were not normal circumstances. "We thought they'd killed you, too." she said at last. "My parents were very sad about it."

"No, they let me live. I survived it all in the end. Probably as a punishment."

Electra frowned. "How can anyone stay alive and take it as a punishment?"

It took him a moment to answer her. "I think you may already know."

"Probably yes." Electra admitted, remembering her dying parents and brother, her hopelessness and despair.

"Can I ask you something?" she spoke again after a short thought. "What am I supposed to call you? I already know who you are and what your name is, but-"

"Just call me Nemo."

"Why Nemo? What does that mean?"

"Exactly what I am now: No one." He answered and looked up at the treetops and the blue sky.

And thus began one of the best and most interesting times of her life.

Her king and saviour began to call himself Nemo, and apart from the necessary and inevitable situations, he never returned to his original name. So did his friends, and after some time, she as well. And even though he was overthrown as a king by Gargoyle's revolution, he still had a lot of property left to which the coup plotters had failed to gain access. He was still extremely rich. He could afford to bury his treasures underground because his numerous bank accounts were overflowing with money. In addition, he owned many properties, land, and, in addition to a few ordinary ships, the Emitrium, a discarded specimen of a mysterious ship that was once said to be capable of spaceflight.

The question remained how to deal with all this. And Nemo knew that from the beginning. Everything was of real value to him only if it could somehow mediate the revenge. So he and his faithful friends agreed on how they wanted to live their lives from that moment on, and then set out on a journey across all continents to recruit the best and most capable engineers, scientists, and sailors. It was the beginning of the Nautilus project.

And just as on the way away from their ruined homeland, Electra continued to follow Nemo with unwavering trust and confidence. He took her everywhere with him, he wanted her to know and learn as much as possible. Together they visited the Sorbonne, Uppsala and other places where Nemo had once studied, and many other important cities in Europe, America and Asia.

Electra experienced a dream come true. She was fascinated by what Nemo knew and what places he had visited in his life; in what detail he could talk about them. He spoke many languages and knew much from perhaps all areas of scientific knowledge. He took her to museums, galleries and botanical gardens, to concerts and lectures. They spent a lot of time aboard the latest ships and trains, discovering new places, meeting interesting and exceptional people. They were at home everywhere, and at the same time, nowhere.

They used different fake names on the outside at each stop, but in private, they always remained just Nemo and Electra. And even though it was all an actual preparation for a war campaign, it was one big, never-ending adventure for Electra at the time. And as the months and years passed, her gratitude and boundless trust in him slowly turned into love. At first, she was not even able to name the new feeling, she just tried her best to impress Nemo, to catch his attention. But the more she became a young lady and ceased to be a child, the more it became clear to her what was happening. And not just to her. Some of Nemo's friends also noticed the change and demanded that Nemo dealt with the situation. Formally, Electra acted as his adoptive daughter, but her behaviour often did not comply with that.

So, one day Nemo offered her if she wanted to return to her parents' original homeland. But Electra did not care. She knew she came from a prominent Swedish family, but she did not attach much importance to it.

Therefore, she remained by Nemo's side, hopelessly and deeply in love. That is, until she finally learned the whole truth - the part of the story where Nemo himself caused the destruction of Tartessos and the death of her family and everyone else.

At that moment, everything changed, nothing was the same as before. Her world collapsed again, everything she believed and trusted in, everything she managed to build her existence on was gone. She thought she wouldn't be able to continue like this, that she would have to leave after all. She tried to hide her state of mind from him, still, he probably knew something was going on. But the Nautilus was just before completion by then, and everyone had to make their final decisions. For a few more weeks, they all parted so that everyone could settle the final issues before embarking on the warpath aboard their new universal submarine.

And so it happened that Electra found herself on Swedish soil again, at the gates of the estate where her father, a passionate traveller and adventurer, was born. She met her grandparents and other relatives. She read in her father's diaries and travel notes, saw family portraits, and eventually visited her mother's family. She tried hard to convince herself that she felt something for those people, that she wanted to stay with them, but it didn't work. Her relatives and their lives were foreign to her, she did not identify with them in any way. She despised even her own parents' behaviour, unable to understand how they could have escaped years ago and let their loved ones believe they had died; and she blamed them for lying to her and her brother about this. Finally, full of disappointment, she decided to return, leaving her past and origins buried forever.

She began her service aboard the Nautilus under Nemo's leadership. Her saviour became the captain and, after a time, she was promoted to the first officer, and their relationship shifted to a purely formal level. In private, Nemo still sometimes called her just by her pseudonym, she however, did not address him in an informal manner ever again.

For many years she was convinced that she hated Nemo and that she remained with him only for revenge on Gargoyle. She believed that the obedience she retained to him was only a manifestation of her benevolence and moral superiority. She was convinced that Nemo needed her not only as a capable crew member and a bridge officer, but also as a replacement for his own lost daughter (after all, he had probably never reacted to her manifestations of love just because of that). She was sure she was one of the most important people in the captain's life, if not the most important, and that he could not do without her. She was so accustomed to this impression that she subconsciously considered it to be true. The ensuing collision with the reality in the form of Nadia was thus cruel and painful.

After Nadia and her friends Jean and Marie became members of the Nautilus crew, Nemo began to pay less and less attention to Electra. And why should he. He had his real daughter, Nadia, by his side again, and he felt the need to protect her. Because of Nadia, he was even ready to sacrifice the main purpose of life of all the Nautilus crew, as well as the ship itself.

On that fateful day, Electra was sure she had lost everything, again. The dream of revenge vanished, leaving only emptiness, uncertainty and fear. And again, it was his fault. She decided that if anyone deserved her revenge, it was Nemo. Although it was quite possible that everyone should drown in the next few moments, she had to do it, she had to finally tell him in the eye about her hatred, and finally accuse him of all his vile deeds.

She judged him but was unable to execute the sentence. She couldn't kill him after all, because the moment she finally said aloud everything she had kept inside over the years, she realized that her hatred was not real. It was like a giant moth covering her heart, but with the first shot it finally raised its heavy wings and flew away. And all that was left was the lonely, desperate little girl that Nemo had once found and saved, exactly the one for whom Nemo meant the world. Exactly the one who loved him so much.

And now that the threat of death had been averted and the crew had settled in the safety of the deep station, the same feeling awoke more and more every day in her heart.

_But I don't want this!_ Electra begged quietly. She flexed her long legs closer together, hugged them, and rested her forehead on her knees. "Come on, just stop it…" she told herself aloud and gritted her teeth, perhaps to drive away the rediscovered emotions. She didn't care for anything like that, feelings only brought pain. She was aware this would never have a happy ending; she knew Nemo would never reciprocate her love. He probably still loved his deceased queen, and so it shall be forever. Quite possibly the very idea of a closer relationship with a human repelled him. Nemo regarded the humans well and never looked down on them, but that was all.

"Come on, he didn't mean it." Ikoline, who had just entered the door, suddenly spoke.

"He did." Electra muttered, keeping her eyes down. "But it doesn't matter now. And maybe he was right, I should have dressed myself."

Ikoline put on a slight smile, and when the door closed silently, she headed for Electra. "You probably won't believe me... But before he fell asleep, he admitted he might have overreacted."

"Oh really?" Electra said in a dismissive tone, clearly not quite convinced.

"Oh yes." Ikoline nodded and sat down on Electra's bed without asking. "And he also said I shouldn't tell you."

Electra laughed bitterly. "He will never admit a mistake in front of me."

"Probably not." said Ikoline and brushed her hand over Electra's back briefly. "Can I ask you something?" she then continued in a much quieter voice.

"Go on." Electra replied, resting her head on her knees so she could look at her companion.

"Why ..." Ikoline hesitated, but finally spoke. "Why did you want to kill him when you like him so much?"

At that moment, Electra felt her heart pound. "Excuse me?" she blurted out in surprise and looked up at Ikoline.

"Come on!" Ikoline smiled and looked Electra in the eye. "Who knows you is aware of that. From the way you look at him, the way you sometimes blush when you talk to him ... You have fair skin and light-blue eyes. Your emotions can be easily recognized."

"I don't know what to say." Electra replied after a moment, turning her gaze aside.

"What about the truth?"

Electra sighed with a feeling of despair and contempt. "I used to like him. And maybe I still do even now." she said, even though the word 'maybe' certainly did not describe the situation properly. "But he disappointed me, very much. I thought I'd solve all my problems with this revenge... Please, just let it be. I don't want to talk about it now." she finally asked, turning her head toward the wall.

"As you wish." Ikoline whispered, getting up, and walked to her bed.

Electra said nothing more, did not turn around. She just listened to Ikoline change. It seemed like an eternity.

"Good night." Ikoline finally said and disappeared under a blanket.

"Good night." Electra replied softly, and without looking at the other girl, she quickly turned off the lamp on her bedside table. And she sat motionless for a long time before she was finally overcome by sleep.

…

Electra couldn't help but smile as she looked at her watch again.

9 hours and 37 minutes.

The meeting was originally scheduled for seven o'clock as usual. And the captain insisted that even though he needed to rest, nothing would change on that.

_But sometimes our expectations completely miss the reality_, Electra thought, sitting down in a chair at a table in the Doctor's examination room. And again, her gaze turned involuntarily to the sleeping captain.

He seemed peaceful and relaxed; he breathed softly and regularly. Not even the bright light woke him. His thick dark hair was dishevelled, and several strands covered his eyes. Looking at him, Electra thought she could brush the hair away from his forehead, but she rejected the idea as quickly as it had come.

She crossed her legs, went through her notes from the long-opened meeting, and tapped her foot lightly. After a moment, she looked at the captain once more. He was still asleep, his eyes tightly closed.

Electra sighed and began to hum softly. She looked around the green room and suddenly realized that the melody she was singing was in fact a song she had learned as a child, she remembered it from the time she went to school in Tartessos. They sang it every morning before class, and the text told of the fading stars and the rising sun, and of the need to do the daily work. The choice of this melody was not intentional, her subconsciousness probably only connected it with the current situation. However, she was surprised that she could still recall the words.

"The stars are out, and the dream is over,

Come, greet the sun and a new day,

The night is gone, day has taken over,

work hard and learn, don't lose your way... "

She sang softly and felt a strange little joy at the sound of her voice. And she couldn't help but remember her days on Nautilus again, and how she used to sing to Marie.

"The sky is blue, so come out

It's great to be awake again."

With a satisfied smile, she finished the song and glanced briefly at the captain. His position hadn't changed, his hair was still messy the same way, but the green irises of his eyes suddenly shone through.

"Very nice." he spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Thank you." Electra said, her heart pounding. She checked her watch. _Here it comes..._

"What time is it?" Nemo asked menacingly.

"9 hours, 41 minutes, sir." Electra replied, trying to keep her voice cheerful and casual.

And to her relief, after hearing the time, the captain merely sighed and closed his eyes again.

There was a long, strange silence.

"Well... I started the meeting as usual, that is at 7 o'clock." Electra began cautiously, giving the captain a brief, cursory glance.

There was no reaction coming, so Electra decided to continue. "The staff of the bridge and the main technicians were all present, and we discussed the successful night ascent to the top floor of the dock. The exit from the elevator shaft had been also blocked there, but in the morning the workers managed to clear the way." she explained matter-of-factly and calmly. "We also talked about the food supplies, evaluated how long it will last, and discussed some ideas about how and where to obtain more. This, of course, included a discussion on getting to the surface."

"You're enjoying it, aren't you?" the captain interrupted suddenly, his eyes still closed.

"Am I?" Electra asked, pretending not to understand his question. "I really don't know what you are talking about, sir." she said in the calmest voice possible.

"Oh, but you do." he insisted, turned on his back and shaded his eyes with his forearm. There was a biting undertone in his statement, however, his voice sounded much more peaceful than Electra would have expected.

"By the way, how are you feeling?" She asked when Nemo finally sat down and stretched.

"Surprisingly well." He answered after a while, then took off his shirt in one swift motion.

_And who's showing off now,_ Electra thought, looking quickly in another direction.

"I see." Nemo finally said, slightly amused.

"See what?" She repeated in astonishment and looked back at him.

"Seems the wound has healed." Nemo explained after briefly feeling the scar and stretching his arm. "At least the pain is gone."

"That is certainly great news." Electra said and stood up. She felt truly relieved, but she was careful not to show it. "So, do you think you could join us?" She asked, cautious, trying not to smile too much.

Nemo returned her gaze and finally brushed his hair from his face. His eyes bore an unusual expression, almost cheerful. "Do you serve tea?" he asked, taking the Blue Water from his neck. He then tossed the gem on the bedside table.

"Of course." Electra assured him, and this time she smiled for real.

"Then I may stop by." Nemo replied, the look in his eyes again a little friendlier.

"How nice of you, sir." Electra said with slight awkwardness over the captain's sudden mood swings. _Hope I'm not blushing again_. "I'll let the others know." she said after a moment, turned to the door and left.

…

"Good morning." Nemo greeted as he entered the conference room. He glanced quickly at everyone present, then strode to his place at the head of the table. "I apologize for my late arrival." he said, tossing a notebook on the tabletop. The golden box with Blue Water he handled just a little more carefully. "It shall not happen again." he replenished, sliding into his chair. Then he sat back and crossed his legs.

"Thanks." He said, nodding at Electra as he reached for his cup of tea. However, his friendly expression was gone. Of course, it was necessary to start working now.

Nemo opened his notebook and prepared a pencil. "So, what do we start with? I heard something about a successful climb to the top floor of the dock..." he began, then stopped short. He frowned and looked at the others. Everyone, without exception, had the same eager, hopeful look on their faces.

"What is it?" Nemo asked.

"It's still very fresh... I mean the news Mr. Bhalla has just brought to us." Electra explained hurriedly, nodding toward the deputy chief of the excavation process.

"Really? I'm listening." Nemo urged the latter for further interpretation.

"Captain, my supervisor apologizes for not returning to this meeting, but he expressed the belief that you would forgive him under the given circumstances." Mr. Bhalla began, his expression still rather cautious.

"Sure. But may I finally hear said circumstances?"

"Well," Mr. Bhalla continued, clearing his throat briefly, "the upper floor of the dock is now essentially a tall cavern extending into the corridors of the city itself. Daylight even penetrates through several cracks. It is too early to say whether there is a risk of the collapse of other floors, we will have to examine this in more detail. However, the subsoil consists of mud, rubble and rocks. The ship Excelion is probably buried in this material tens of meters deep. The good news, though, is that the subsoil appears to be stable. Even better news is that we found two partially buried cranes on the site. In addition, we managed to clear another passage in the wall opposite from the exit of the elevator shaft. Behind it... " Mr. Bhalla made a significant pause here, taking a reassuring look at the others, "behind it there's another large part of the hangar. There is some amount of mud, too, but far less than in our dock. It seems we can move the extracted material there. We've also discovered other cranes and equipment inside, as well as several service ships. Everything is partly covered by a layer of mud, so it's not yet clear how many vehicles are there or how we will get to them, but- "

"But they are there." Nemo added softly, his head bowed, eyes closed.

In the moment of silence, only those who sat closest to him, that is Electra and the Old Man, could hear him whisper, "Victory will not pass us by." These were the words of the royal family, his family, spoken in the language of Atlantis.

"Yes, they are." confirmed once again Mr Bhalla. The white of his eyes contrasted with his dark skin as he looked around. "Who knows what condition they're in, but... we're still just about the engines, if I'm correct."

"Absolutely." Nemo agreed, finally raising his head and looking directly at Bhalla. "Tell me, have you been working without a break since yesterday?"

"Me and my supervisor did, the workers took turns at night." Bhalla admitted.

"Great job, then, Mr. Bhalla. You and the whole team. However, you need to rest now. When we're done here, me and the first officer will fill in for you two." Nemo suggested, glancing at Electra to confirm his plan. She nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, captain." Mr. Bhalla said, bowing his head in a sign of respect. "Although I still have one question to ask you." he added in a cautious tone.

"Go on."

"At night, we noticed three series of strong vibrations, probably from Excelion." Bhalla explained.

"Yes, we all heard that." Nemo admitted. Although Electra had slept through the incident, at the very beginning of the meeting, the Doctor briefly discussed the whole event.

"We've already heard some explanation from the Doctor," Mr. Bhalla continued, nodding toward the latter, "but the men will be calmer when they know your opinion."

The captain thought for a moment. "I can't say for sure, but it was probably a warning signal."

"Is something wrong with the ship?" Bhalla's white of his eyes shone again.

"Probably yes, but there's no reason to panic. We haven't done anything wrong; the ship is only responding to our presence." Nemo replied in a calm voice. "More precisely, it reacts mainly to the presence of Blue Water." he clarified, pausing before taking another breath. "My theory is that there was a breakdown on the ship during the Disaster of Tartessos. The artificial being aboard the Excelion seems to be able to keep the problem in an acceptable condition, but apparently it cannot eliminate it. This being is clearly unable to contact me directly, so he alerts me to the persisting problem the way we all have heard and continue to hear even now."

"So, just to make things clear – there's already someone aboard that ship?" Eiko was horrified and leaned forward in his chair.

Nemo sighed irritably. "Yes, but not physically. He's someone who was born with the ship and can never leave it. He's a part of it."

"Just asking, sir." Eiko raised his hands in apology. "I hope the thing won't cause any problems."

"So do I, Mr Villan, thank you for your thoughtful suggestion." Nemo admitted, his tone just a little sarcastic. "The Excelion certainly did not ever have a human crew on board, therefore our presence will unsettle him to say the least. We'd better prepare for some trouble."

"Could he attack us?" the Doctor asked, a little taken aback.

"Certainly not." the captain reassured him. "He can only activate weapon systems on a direct order."

"On whose order?" the Doctor objected. "Is it any certain the ship will accept you as its commander?"

"I am from the ruling family; I see no reason why he shouldn't." Nemo replied, confident.

"It's a strange concept anyway." said the Doctor, looking aside and waving his hand as if driving away an intrusive insect. "It's all weird."

"In what sense?" Nemo wanted to know, staring curiously at the Doctor.

"I don't know..." the latter replied quietly. "As for me, inanimate things shouldn't think of their own; or make decisions."

"What we think is secondary now. There's nothing we can do about it anyway." Nemo answered softly, staring back at his notebook.

A long silence followed, eventually broken by the petty officer Fletcher. "Well, now that you want to go up to the dock, captain," he said to Nemo without being given the word, "I'd also have a request for your assistance, at the exit to the surface."

"I guess it's Blue Water." added Nemo.

"Exactly." Fletcher nodded. "The tunnel is fine except for the occasional light failure. It seems pretty stable and the escalator is also functional. The only problem is the exit gate - it is too strong and firmly anchored; it won't move an inch. However, the lock seems to be connected to an Orihalcon in the wall nearby. So I guess you'll have to deal with the thing, or we won't ever get out of here."

"Your people are there now?" the captain asked.

"No, they would be useless there. They're upstairs in the dock."

"I see. Of course you can count on me, we'll talk this in more detail when I get up to you." Nemo promised and took a few brief notes. "Well, once we've opened the topic of the surface, how are we doing with the supplies?" He then moved on and looked up at the kitchen manager.

"We recalculated everything in the morning, and we shall have enough for three days." the chef's answer came. "If we tighten our belts, then for five. But there are other ways, too. There's quite a lot of rats and bats upstairs..." He reminded and brushed his grey hair from his forehead.

"Disgusting." Eiko frowned from across the table.

"Easy now, lad." the chef reprimanded him. "We'll talk about this later when you're whining with hunger. Like I said, I can cook everything." he said firmly and turned back to the captain.

"Good to know." noted Nemo, who was just writing more notes. "But if we get to the surface, I assume we'll get better food there. The problem is we'll have to set aside a group of people for that."

"Sure." Fletcher replied. "We'll probably have to rule out the rifles because of the noise, but I'm just as good with crossbow and knife."

"If you'll excuse me, there's another interesting suggestion." The Old Man suddenly stepped into the debate and nodded at Electra.

"Well..." She looked down and cleared her throat. "We can procure meat and crops ourselves... Or we can ask the villagers for it."

"Nah! If you ask me, the less people know about us, the better." Fletcher jumped into her speech. "Best if no one knows."

"But this is how we save manpower." Electra took the word back and looked toward Fletcher, uncompromising. "Plus, the villagers know the surrounding woods much better than we do. They can watch the area for us to see if Gargoyle's people are moving. They may even provide us with more material and additional manpower."

"And why would they do that?" Fletcher said mockingly.

"And why not?" Electra refused to submit. "They have been always loyal to the kings of Tartessos."

"Interesting enough." Nemo joined the discussion and leaned his back again. "The villagers have always been loyal. But the question is, what do they think of the King of Tartessos now that Tartessos is gone. Will they even recognize the King of Tartessos if he came to them?"

"It isn't too long; they'll know you for sure." The Old Man spoke again. "In addition, you used to invite them to the city during your reign and often visited them yourself."

"It was mainly my wife who went to see them."

"Sure," the Old Man nodded, "but I just wanted to say that if you take the Blue Water with you, they'll know who you are. And if we find your crown jewels-"

"No." Nemo interrupted him, his expression stern and uncompromising. "There's no way I'd participate in such a farce."

"See?" Fletcher spoke triumphantly, looking at Electra, and slammed his palm on the table. "Didn't I say that? We have no means to persuade them to cooperate!"

"Easy now, Mr. Fletcher!" Nemo replied to that note and slammed his palm a little harder against the table. "I don't want to mock them, but I still think we have arguments. Those people live their lives in a different way from us, but they're not stupid." he said and got up from his chair.

"The more I think about it, the more it becomes clear to me that informing them of our actions and asking them for help is not something we should just think about." He spoke in a little calmer tone and turned his back on the others.

"No. It is our duty." he stressed, briefly touching his golden box in the corner of the table. "We fight alone, but this is not just our war. We'll tell the villagers the truth. If we lose, they lose, as every other human being on this planet. If they help us, they will help themselves."

"Fair enough." Fletcher admitted cautiously. "But do we know for sure they'll know you?"

"We won't know until we try." The captain answered, giving Fletcher a glimpse over his shoulder. "There was a talk of the jewels. I think buried in the ground they're useless. I shall leave the treasure in their hands; I have nothing more to offer them."

"You mean-" Electra said in astonishment.

"I gave the jewels up years ago." He reminded her. "And I'm sure my wife would agree."

"Probably yes." Electra admitted, not sure what else to say.

"I made up my mind." the captain spoke again after a long, embarrassed silence. "I'll go to the villagers tomorrow before dawn."

"Alone?" Electra asked immediately.

"Of course not. If I understood correctly, it was your idea. Who else should accompany me but you, officer?" Nemo replied, something like a smile touching his features. "Can I count on you too?" Nemo turned to the Old Man.

"Of course." The latter agreed.

"Very well." Nemo said with content, finally turning back to all the others. "Now, if there are no further questions, I'd like to get to work."

"Over here, sir!" Eiko raised his hand. "I mean, can you actually just walk out of this station wearing your Blue Water? Isn't the whole compound going to shut down or something?"

"It won't shut down, Mr. Villan. I'll make sure it won't." the captain assured him. "But thank you for the reminder."

"And if you won't mind, before you go upstairs, I have to ask you to stop by, sir." The Doctor demanded.

"I may, for a moment." the captain sighed impatiently, taking a few quick notes quickly. "All right then, whoever can go upstairs, go upstairs. I'll join you right away." he then spoke to the others and put the pencil in his pocket.

Electra still had in mind the matter of the freight elevator and the service ship, but she decided to consult it with the captain in person. "I'm just going to change my clothes, sir." she told Nemo, stood up, and hurriedly finished her cup of tea. "I guess I shall wait for you in front of the Doctor's room?" she said and began to clear her things from the table.

Nemo didn't answer at first, just reached thoughtfully for his notebook. "The idea with the villagers..." he then said just loud enough for Electra to hear him in the noise.

"Yes?" She looked up at him curiously.

Their eyes met for a moment.

"Well thought, Starshine." he said softly, barely audible. Then he immediately looked in another direction and, without further ado, grabbed his golden box and headed for the door.

Electra watched him in dismay as he left, then finally exhaled and shook her head in disbelief. How long had it been since he'd last addressed her like that? Years, long years. Before Nautilus set sail for the first time.

But even then, he didn't call her that often. Only on special occasions. In order to address her in this way, she had to prove her intelligence and knowledge in an exceptional way, or cope unusually well with the task he had devised for her.

But there were opportunities when he called her Starshine all day long. It was every time on the anniversary of their first meeting. Nemo always tried to make the day special. He always surprised her with a present, with a fulfilled wish. That day was always devoted only to her, that day belonged to her, Nemo belonged to her. However, since Nautilus' departure, they have never celebrated the Meeting Day again. To be sure, Electra herself didn't even care, and for this anniversary she tried to avoid Nemo as best she could.

_So why now?_ She wondered. Perhaps the Meeting Day was close. But then she realized it wasn't. It won't be for long.

"Are you coming, Electra?" the Old Man called to her between the doors.

"Certainly." she nodded at him and headed to the exit.

…

Electra was watching the hull of the service ship, which was blocking much of the corridor not far away from her when the door of the Doctor's room suddenly opened.

"As for the work, please try not to overdo." the Doctor's voice came from inside as the captain stepped out.

"I'll try," Nemo said toward the room before the door could close. "But I don't promise anything," he added quietly. He was wearing a work uniform and his captain's cloak over it. The Blue Water was hanging around his neck. "Can we?" he said, gesturing toward the elevator.

"Certainly, captain." Electra nodded and followed him.

In the elevator, she silently selected the top floor of the dock and watched the cabin door close in front of them. There was a swaying feeling of the sudden acceleration.

She took a breath to raise the subject of the freight elevator, but even after a moment's effort, she was unable to find the words. And maybe she didn't even want to talk. She just turned her gaze to the captain for a moment and then immediately back to the cabin floor.

"What's the matter?" Nemo asked suddenly.

"Why did you call me that?" Electra spoke in a low but urgent voice, her head bowed. She deliberately chose an informal address, after so many years. After all, he started it.

"Because I wanted to." Nemo replied without further explanation and paused. "If you don't wish for it, I won't do it again." he added.

At first Electra didn't say anything, but then an old memory came to her mind. She plucked up her courage and spoke again. "The last time you called me by that nickname, you wanted to send me away."

"I had my reasons." Nemo admitted.

She laughed. Briefly but honestly. When she recalled what he was talking about, she couldn't do otherwise. "Probably yes." She agreed. "But you also said we would act like it didn't happen."

"I'm not implying anything, am I?" Nemo replied, surprisingly softly. The strangely friendly tone was beginning to appear in his voice again. "And I didn't send you away. I offered it to you. That's a difference."

"You wanted to get rid of me." Electra corrected him after a moment's thought.

Nemo thought, too. "Even that is possible." he said at last.

Electra laughed at that again, but bitterly this time. And she still couldn't bring herself to look at Nemo.

"It was rather difficult then... to handle you." the captain explained.

"I see," Electra shook her head. "And when I used to hate you, was it better?" she asked, finally looking up.

"Does the past tense matter?" Nemo answered with another question and looked her in the eye as well.

"Who knows?" Electra chose a vague answer and lowered her gaze. "Would you like it did?" she added, hoping she hadn't just revealed her true feelings.

The answer did not come for a long time. "I'd like a lot of things." he then said in a low voice.

Electra had nothing to say to that. There was something strange in his tone, something she couldn't name. Maybe regret. Maybe sadness; hopelessness...

She checked the live diagram of the elevator shafts in the cabin wall. It showed they were almost up.

"That failed service ship downstairs - shall we cut it in parts?" she asked out of nowhere. "I mean, we would free the freight elevator shaft in the process."

"We have no other choice if we want to transport the engine up from Nautilus." Nemo confirmed. "And next time, try to mention such a thing in a meeting, officer." he added.

The elevator began to slow down, and with the force of inertia, Electra felt the strange tension between them disappear.

"Sure, Captain." she nodded in agreement.

Then the elevator stopped, and everything returned to its usual.

…

"Electra?" Ikoline spoke. "Can you hear me?"

Her voice was quiet, she spoke almost in a whisper, but sounded very urgent. Uncomfortably so.

"Come on, wake up! You're leaving in a few minutes!"

"What?" Electra snorted, squinting into the dim light of her table lamp. "I barely fell asleep." she complained.

"You have to get up." Ikoline insisted. "Your breakfast is on the table. The journey will be long, you have to eat well."

"Huh." Electra managed and sat up on her bed, which action she immediately regretted. Every muscle in her body ached, her thighs and arms and abdomen burned. She tried to stand up and hissed in pain.

"A little tired, are we?" noted Ikoline.

"A little? I feel like I'm ninety." Electra moaned, preferring to lean against the bed. Clearly, she had overdone her work yesterday. But did she have a choice? Everyone worked hard, almost furious during the day and night, including the captain.

"Perhaps you could take a shower? Nice and warm? I'll get you some clothes in the meantime." The young nurse offered, helping Electra straighten up.

"That's a great idea, Ikoline. You're a darling." Electra thanked her and smiled.

"Come on," the addressed one waved her hand. "It's my job."

"Being a darling?"

"Precisely." Ikoline replied and led Electra to the bathroom. "If you need anything, just call me." she said, walking back to the room.

"So, you won't stay here to assist me?" Electra asked, sounding regretful just for effect, alluding to the events of the night before.

"No, I think you'll manage." Came a lively answer.

"I see," Electra said through the narrowed door, shrugging. "Clearly, I'm not as interesting as the captain, am I?" she asked so loudly that Ikoline could hear her. Then she undressed and turned on the water.

"Excuse me?" Ikoline frowned as she opened the door again and peered inside. "I'm a professional, I don't stare at anyone!" she said in a confident manner, looking just into Electra's eyes as proof of her claim. "Plus," she added with a smirk, "I don't know which one of us would rather be in the shower with him now. But I don't think it's me."

Electra quickly averted her eyes and cleared her throat in embarrassment. "I guess I asked for it." She admitted, smiling.

"You bet you did. Now, try not to imagine things and hurry up." Ikoline urged, closing the door again.

…

When Electra finally entered the brightly lit corridor, she found that the captain and Old Man were already waiting for her.

"Good morning, officer." Nemo greeted her; arms folded in front of him. "Have the stars gone out? The dream is over?" he looked at her with curiosity, referencing the song she had sung yesterday (and pointing to her late arrival).

"Let's come, greet the sun and the new day." Electra smiled apologetically and completed the verse. "I'm sorry, sir, it took me a while to move." she explained as she reached them.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it in a few days." Nemo comforted her amusedly. "And now, if you agree, we'll take a walk." he said and headed for the elevator.

_I would also look so fresh and energetic if I always had a Blue Water at hand,_ Electra thought with a slight envy as she looked at the blue gem hanging from the captain's neck.

However, the old man seemed no less relaxed and lively. "Did you practice the asanas I recommended to you before going to bed?" he asked her as they boarded the elevator.

"I confess I did not." Electra replied with regret in her voice. "I just went to scrub myself from all the mud and dust and fell into bed, I don't remember anything else." she said, going through the elevator diagram. Then she selected the floor from which the tunnel leading to the surface emanated. "But I definitely should have. I haven't done any exercise in weeks now."

"Don't worry, we'll fix it." the Old Man assured her. He himself had practiced yoga for most of his life, and it was true that he had never complained of movement problems even at his age, even now that much more physical effort had been put on the entire crew.

"But I have to say you did great yesterday." the Old Man praised her and swung forward on his tiptoes to emphasize his words. "None of us would place the explosives better."

"Thanks. So you say the calluses and tired hands were worth something?" Electra sighed as she looked at the battered joints on her fingers and wrists.

Before the construction and rescue work could begin yesterday, it was first necessary to examine the floors above the dock and determine if there was a risk of other parts of the ceiling and corridors collapsing. To do this, it was necessary to build scaffolding. A lot of climbing followed, in order to lay explosives and blast away all the unstable surfaces. And of course, the climb to the least accessible sites was left to Electra.

"It was rather dangerous, too." the captain remarked. "You did well, but it's always better to think twice before throwing yourself into such task so heedlessly."

"Of course each climb was carefully planned, sir. And not just by me." Electra defended herself. "And I'd never climb anywhere if I weren't absolutely certain about the next move. I'm not crazy."

"But you were already tired. In such conditions, a minute problem is enough to make things go wrong."

"Nothing went wrong, though." Electra pointed out, frowning at the captain. Did he always have to look for any mistake in her actions? "Plus, it was done sooner than expected, and we could safely cut a larger portal to the neighbouring dock." she continued to defend her work. "And that counts."

"Of course." Nemo admitted, but Electra did not seem to take his consent seriously. "We just don't want to lose you. That's all." he said then, and quite possibly he even glanced at her from the corner of his eyes.

_What does that mean again?_ Electra thought, almost taking a breath to ask another question, but the elevator was already slowing down.

"Looks like we're here." stated the Old Man in surprise. It was a bit unusual, after all - the floor with the emergency tunnel was much lower than the floors of the dock.

The mouth of the tunnel was located just a few steps from the elevator shaft, and along the entire length of it, there were both conventional and escalator stairways. And due to yesterday's workload, all three of them logically chose to pass the way up on the moving staircase.

In the flickering lights, the other end of the tunnel seemed out of sight, so Electra leaned her back against the movable railing at first, but after a moment she decided to sit down. She put her backpack with food and water on the steps below her. The old man had put his own, much bigger and heavier backpack down on a stair right at the beginning, but he himself did not sit down. The captain also remained standing two steps below them.

_I should have said I wasn't going anywhere._ It had occurred to Electra several times. After all, she felt still very tired and so she threatened to delay the expedition, and moreover, she was not entirely sure of her role in the whole affair. She spoke the language of the villagers only very poorly, and she doubted that many of the villagers spoke Atlantean. Nemo and Old Man would have done quite well without her, and she could meanwhile do a lot of important work in the dock.

She sighed and glanced at the captain. To her surprise, he was looking at her too. And so she just sat motionless, watching his eyes, until she heard him say: _I want you to come with me_. But the weird thing about it all was that Nemo did not really say anything. His words came right into her mind. The moment Electra realized this, she shuddered noticeably and began to feel dizzy, even as she sat. She leaned against the surrounding stairs and quickly averted her eyes.

"Are you all right?" the Old Man asked, kneeling beside her and watching her anxiously.

"I don't know." Electra exhaled with unease, pressing her wrist to her forehead. Her head ached and her dizziness kept getting worse - she was grateful for her previous idea to sit down.

"Do you feel dizzy? Or sick?" asked the captain, who had meanwhile climbed the remaining steps and sat down in front of her.

"Yes." Electra managed. She had to close her eyes; the vertigo was unbearable. _No. Please! _She implored her own body as she felt her stomach churn. But the nausea continued to escalate until she had no other choice. She turned quickly, pulled herself up to the edge of the movable railing, and leaned out over it. Her whole body convulsed, but nothing came out. Fortunately. It would be a shame, she thought, remembering the dwindling supplies of food down at the station and the hearty breakfast Ikoline had prepared for her.

"Pardon me." she rasped as she imagined that the noise she had made must have sounded awful.

Eventually, Electra narrowed her eyes in disgust as she noticed the long string of saliva dripping from her mouth, but felt that the worst was over.

She remained leaning forward for a moment, just trying to breathe deeply. Then she carefully turned back. "Sorry." she uttered, a devastated, regretful sound. She kept her eyes closed so that the dizziness would not get worse again, but before she could slide down, the captain readily grabbed her by the shoulder and by the neck and carefully helped her to sit down.

"I am sorry." he said softly, putting a mild stress on the pronoun.

"That's all right." Electra murmured unconvincingly. Truth be told, she still was not sure what had happened.

"Did you hear me?" Nemo asked her, almost in a whisper, wiping her wet lips with the edge of his sleeve.

"Huh." Electra nodded; her eyes still closed. It was probably not clear to the Old Man what Nemo was really asking about, but she knew it very well. And she was overcome by a small inner panic at the realization that what she had heard in her thoughts was indeed real.

"Would you like some water, Electra?" the Old Man offered her and stroked her cheek.

"Not now, thank you." she replied, trying to focus only on her breathing. But then she heard a soft rattling sound. She opened her eyes and found that Nemo had removed the Blue Water from his neck and put it back into the golden box.

He hesitated for a moment, then closed the golden lid over the blue stone and hid the box in his bag.

"This wasn't a very nice start of the day, right?" Electra spoke when she felt the nausea subside. She was now curled up, sitting on the stair and leaning sideways against the railing wall.

"And perhaps it's only going to get better from now on." the Old Man spoke with a careful dose of optimism.

"Wish you were right." Electra exhaled, wiping the teary corners of her eyes with the back of her hand.

The captain didn't answer, just stared thoughtfully ahead. After a while, he stood and went up a few steps, where he remained for the rest of the journey.

…

The escape tunnel opened to the surface near the foot of the mountain, in the central crater of which the city of Tartessos was located thirteen years ago. The exit gate itself was located and ingeniously camouflaged among the rocks, no one from the city had ever discovered it here. So, millennia later, Nemo and his crew were the first people to pass through this place again. And apart from the captain, quite possibly the very first human beings to ever use the tunnel itself.

The air outside was dazzlingly clean and fresh, and Electra was enjoying it to the fullest. She sat on a rock near the tunnel exit - now closed - exposing her face to the first rays of the morning sun. She rested her elbow on her knee and her chin in her palm, her eyes closed. After the strange incident from the escalator, she needed to rest.

She glanced at the Old Man, who was sitting nearby on a high place, welcoming the rising sun with meditation. Nemo was waiting with folded arms next to her.

"I'm holding you back." Electra said after a while. "I'd better return to the station."

"That's not an option." The captain disagreed. "There's a long way ahead of us at the foot of the mountain, then we will cross the river. Next, Old Man and I will dig up the jewels. You may rest during the process."

"All right, let's just say I'll go with you." Electra admitted. "What exactly will be my task?"

Before she could even finish her question, Nemo was already sighing in disapproval. "What did you say, officer?" he finally spoke grumpily. "You agreed to accompany me. And you've had enough time to think about your choice since yesterday."

"Of course." Electra sighed. "I just can't imagine what I'm going to do there, that's all."

"Congratulations then." the captain replied. "Looks like we all feel the same."

"All right, I have no more questions." Electra said resignedly.

"Don't you want to ask what happened to you in the tunnel?" Nemo spoke after a few silent minutes.

"I'm not sure if I want to know."

Nemo bowed his head and thought. "It's nothing special among Atlanteans. The human brain is also capable of this communication. To some extent, though... and after getting used to it." he explained and paused for a long time. "It was a lot easier with the help of Blue Water." he said then. "But I should have known I was going to cause you trouble."

"You read my mind, then?" Electra asked cautiously, looking in his direction. "It sounded like you knew what I was thinking."

"That's not entirely accurate."

"So how is it?"

"I just recognized you didn't want to go." Nemo replied, glancing at her. "Which, with a little effort, everyone could tell."

Electra did not answer that. She just kept quietly watching the awakening nature and listening to the soothing sounds of the forest. At the same time, she missed one sound. The rumble of the Excelion engine could no longer be heard on the surface.

"Can we make a deal?" she said at last.

"On what?"

"I'll stop doubting my participation in this expedition, and you..." she inhaled to think about what she really meant to say, "you won't look into my mind, ever again."

Nemo laughed in disbelief. "But do you realize you're offering to keep what you already once promised?" he said and turned to her. "That's not a fair deal, to be honest."

"And you've caused me a lot of trouble again. Just like that." reminded Electra and looked boldly into his eyes. "That's not quite fair either!"

"Good." The captain shook his head and pursed his lips. "We'll arrange the deal as follows," he said in a low but threatening voice, approaching Electra in an instant. He then grabbed her forearm uncompromisingly, lifting her to him in one jerk. "I'll try to forget this conversation and not intrude myself into your head again," he said between gritted teeth. "And you will finally stop your grouching!" he added angrily, staring straight into her eyes. "Deal?"

But the last thing Electra wanted now was to answer him. She defiantly tried to wrench herself from his clench, but she couldn't. On the contrary, he gripped her even tighter and pulled her closer.

"Let. Go." She hissed at him. "I'm not a little girl anymore, in case you haven't noticed!"

"Then don't behave like one!" he replied in a crude, unyielding way, even before she could finish her statement.

She tried her best not to show the pain and not to avert her eyes. But soon it was not possible anymore – they were so close that Nemo was touching her face with the tip of his nose.

Her heart was pounding, almost as if it wanted to jump out of her chest. She was enraged, furious. But at the same time, these emotions were now waging a cruel battle inside her, a battle with a sudden desire to bury her fingers in Nemo's hair and kiss him.

At that moment, despite the pain in her forearm, she was unable to push the thought out of her mind. She was already raising her free hand, but she couldn't, she couldn't finish the move. Because what would happen then? Would he approve? Or would he react as he did years ago when she tried something similar on their last Meeting Day?

In the end, she just placed her hand on his chest and gripped the collar of his cloak. Finally, she closed her eyes, bowed her head, and pressed her forehead against him. "Let go." she repeated softly.

Nothing happened at first, but then his grip eased.

"Shall we make a deal then?" he whispered into her hair, and she nodded softly.

"We should move on." he said then, gently taking her hand in his palm to indicate she should let go, too. Electra didn't want to, she wished to stay this close to him for little longer, but in the end, she gave in.

And when he walked away, she felt a terrible chill, even as the sun's rays touched her skin again.

…

The rustle of the river greeted them from the distance and in a unique way complemented the harmony of birdsong and the whispers of trees in the wind. The air was humid and heavy, full of all the smells and scents of the rainforest. And the closer the bubbling and the roar of the water flow, the more Electra realized she was fine. Physically, for sure. But the sense of guilt and anger, but also of the pain and emptiness still lingered inside her.

However, she was soon disturbed from those thoughts as the river came suddenly into view. To their pleasant surprise, the bridge that was to take them to the opposite bank looked very well preserved, even maintained.

_The villagers?_ Electra thought. And why not. In the close surroundings, several trails led up the mountainside, the outer pedestrian access roads to Tartessos. It was quite possible that the villagers were still visiting or perhaps searching for the lost city. _And maybe they're waiting for it to reappear,_ she thought. _But in vain._

As they approached the bridge, the sound of falling water grew louder and louder. The river flowed from the rocks above and rushed down in a huge waterfall. All around, a fine spray of water rose and sprinkled everything with tiny drops.

The bridge felt stable, but Electra was relieved when they finally found themselves on the other side. After all, if she considered what had happened above this place thirteen years ago, her doubts were only relevant.

After a few minutes' walk, they found themselves at a crossroad. One of the paths led up to Tartessos, the other to the depths of the forest. They chose the second option, and after a while they headed off the trail and walked among the tall trees. And the closer they were to their first significant stop on the road, the more a strange nostalgia, nervousness, and reawakened grief was perceptible in the air.

None of them spoke when they finally reached the desired place. At one point, the captain just stopped without a word, dropped his bag and coat, and reached for the shovel that the Old Man was offering him. They both set to work in silence, and Electra just watched them. She considered whether to join or offer some help, but she couldn't bring herself to interrupting the all-embracing peace.

And so she just sat down on the massive roots of a nearby tree, folded her hands in her lap, and listened to the sounds of the forest – just like thirteen years ago, when she had been sitting here as a girl named Medina, quietly watching her yet nameless saviour at work. She watched him as he patiently cracked the soil and kept throwing it away, bending and breaking the overgrown roots.

It seemed endless, but then both shovels crashed against a metal surface. And after a while, the captain was lifting a golden chest from the dug pit. It was dirty, but Electra knew that its ornaments were similar to those on the captain's Blue Water box.

Nemo then quietly cleaned the surface of the chest and washed his hands. He drank some water and watched the golden object for a long moment. Eventually, he set down his water bottle, came closer, knelt before the chest and unlocked it. Then, carefully, very slowly, he opened the lid, almost as if worried about what he might see inside.

The flickering rays of the sun reflected off the smooth surface of his and the queen's crowns. He reached out and touched the smaller one briefly, then his fingers slid to an object Electra could no longer see from her spot. But then Nemo grabbed the item and lifted it out of the chest.

Electra exhaled in horror as she realized what the captain was holding in his hands. It was the queen's layered necklace, still dirty from her blood. She remembered it from that time thirteen years ago, but back then she could not yet fully understand what this object meant to Nemo. However, exactly as back then, the captain now held the necklace tightly in his hands, bowed his head, and let out a shuddering breath. Just how must it feel like to once again hold this silent but direct witness to the violent death of a loved one?

Nemo himself never told her the story, she only knew it from the Old Man and a few others.

On a walk through the city, on their way to the human districts, the queen and her guards were surprised by an attack from their own ranks. In an instant, her loyal guardians were dead, and the queen herself was then surrounded and slaughtered in a merciless way. The traitors slit her throat, then robbed her of the Blue Water and all her jewellery, they stripped her, and threw her into the river outside the city. All this in front of the little prince Venusis. But mainly thanks to the little prince, it was even possible to carry out the assassination. It was he who already partially controlled the queen's Blue Water. It was him who prevented the queen from being warned of what was coming.

The subsequent funeral was then just a farce. Its main purpose was the official handover of the Blue Water to the little prince. After a quick ceremony, Gargoyle and several other members of the government accused the king himself of the queen's murder, and the conflict between him and Gargoyle's rebels flared up. However, the rebels had the superiority in numbers as well as the support of the vast majority of the Tartessos' nobility, and especially the little prince.

The king and loyal nobles were then imprisoned. This was followed by the proclamation of the Empire of Neo Atlantis and the coronation of Prince Venusis, now Emperor Neo. The following days were filled with persecution of the uncomfortable and public executions. These were days of fear, when the human inhabitants of the city were forced to withdraw behind the city gates and leave their homes.

The culmination of everything was to be the establishment of the absolute domination of the Atlanteans over the whole world, as it once used to be. The humans were to be humiliated and regain the role of servants and slaves of the great Nation of Atlantis. For this purpose, an old communication tower was put into operation, a tower once capable of sending messages through interstellar space. It was transformed into a destructive weapon, the first goal of which was to destroy the largest European cities.

On the day of the planned attack, however, there was a fatal failure of the device and instead of European capitals, Tartessos itself was hit - at least that was the version of the story, which was intended for Electra. And she had steadfastly believed in this version for a long time. After years of this belief, however, she overheard the truth behind unattended doors. She finally learned that no spontaneous failure had taken place. On the day of the attack, the deposed king of Tartessos managed to escape from prison and just before the attack, he got to the Tower itself. And all he could do then to stop the whole thing was to snatch the queen's Blue Water from the control unit. And that was exactly what he did, that was exactly what led to the collapse of the tower and the subsequent destruction of their homeland.

Electra closed her eyes. Her heart sank as she thought of those long days of terror. The buildings in the city collapsed and fell to the ground one by one, glowing rivers of lava were flowing through the streets and both the Atlanteans and humans were dying by thousands. The accumulated energy was constantly radiated from the collapsed tower to the surroundings, and soon even the rocks all around the city were melting. There was no escape, all that remained was to wait for everything to be engulfed in flames, bursting earth or in water rolling through the breached dam walls.

And it was all caused by Nemo, once their king, now their captain, who was now helplessly clutching his dead wife's necklace; alone and helpless, hidden in the depths of the forest.

Did he realize back then what he was doing? Could he know how things would turn out? Was he able to imagine that all the inhabitants of Tartessos, all his loved ones, and even himself, would probably die?

_And what would I do in his place?_ Electra asked herself. Finally, after all those years when she had condemned and hated Nemo for this act, she was finally able to ask herself this question and doubt her previous views and beliefs. And she had known the answer for a long time, she had just never been prepared to admit it, until now.

When she opened her eyes again, she found the Old Man walking quietly in her direction. Eventually, he stopped in front of her and offered her a hand.

Electra was almost unable to get up, nor did she know how long she had sat like this. Her legs were stiff and numb, but in the end she straightened.

"Let's leave him alone for a while." the Old Man whispered to her.

And Electra had no choice but to agree.

* * *

_You want to get close to me_

_The feeling so clear_

_But I need some time to see_

_Vision through my tears_

_You want to get next to me_

_I need your intrusion_

_I don't need to be_

_Blinded by confusion_

_Here is my heart_

_Waiting for you..._

_\- Yes, Love Will Find a Way_

* * *

_**AN:** I have to say here that I've changed some of the events of the original anime to fit my story. So if you, dear readers, remember things in a different way, you are most likely right._

_And as for the way the queen was killed, I took the liberty of paying homage to a certain important character of the Song of Ice and Fire saga by G.R.R. Martin._

_The next chapter will be a flashback one, to the times Electra and Nemo were much younger and everything was still fine between them. I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it :)_

_See you soon and all the best to all of you!_

_Selenite_


End file.
